


Long Time Coming

by liziscribbles



Series: Two Sparrows [3]
Category: Persona 4, Persona Series, Tales of Xillia
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-13
Updated: 2016-02-11
Packaged: 2018-02-25 06:17:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 18
Words: 83,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2611499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liziscribbles/pseuds/liziscribbles
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The finale of the Two Sparrows series.  Approximately a year after the end of Sense of Security, the new enemy finally decides to show themselves.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Nerves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things begin again.

**March 15th, 2016**

The attendant had never seen a prison before. It was one of those things he'd always been curious about; a place where dangerous individuals were housed; with walls made of solid stone and individual cells inside, where they kept criminals trapped like animals in a zoo. Not to mention the fact that this particular prison now housed two of the three people he'd bestowed his gifts upon. Getting in and asking for visitation had been easier than it should have been, especially to a place where they kept dangerous people like this.

 _Just another reason..._ he thought as he strode down the hallway and stepped into the room.

Somehow, he expected more. More than a line of glass walls and phones. More than hushed whispers from people in varying tones; some regretful, some frustrated, some angry... it seemed to him that a place filled with dangerous men and women should have been more exciting. But just like everywhere else in the world, these people lived their lives in a haze, only concerned with themselves and how they'd been caught. Only concerned with things that _they_ could see, with _their_ lives and what _they_ thought was important.

With a sigh, the attendant pushed a curl behind his ear and lowered his baseball cap on his head. That was a part of why he was here today. Those two people, the two that he'd given power to, were the only ones he'd seen to know the world for what it was. One of the few times in his life that he'd been wrong about someone.

Souji Seta had been a surprise. The way he'd attached himself to that group of teenagers who trudged around on the other side like they knew the place, the attendant _expected_ for him to be a problem, especially with all of the potential that he had. But it seemed that all it took was a push, and that Tohru Adachi had been exactly the man to give it. Funny how things like that worked out sometimes.

It was only due to the fact that the two of them had seemingly attached to one another, and ended up in jail together, that he was here today. As he strode up to the booth, and spotted the two men waiting on the other side, he fought back the smile that threatened to curl up the sides of his mouth. He loved it when things worked in his favor. He slid into the chair and lifted his head, meeting eyes with the men behind the protective glass.

Something about the surprised expression on their faces made the whole thing better. Did they even remember him? It didn't matter. He was sure that they'd be interested in his proposal.

Oddly enough, Souji was the first one to speak, as he looked suspiciously through the glass. "You're the attendant at the Moel gas station, aren't you?" he asked.

It was both surprising and not, that the boy remembered him. It seemed, too, that Adachi remembered him, but that was far less surprising. They'd seen one another far more recently than the attendant had seen the boy, after all. With a single nod, he looked between the two of them, and then relaxed his posture a little bit. They didn't seem suspicious or concerned in the slightest, which was intriguing. It would make this whole thing a whole lot easier.

The quiet seemed to unsettle Adachi, at least a little. "Well, what do you want?" Adachi asked, still undaunted.

Though his expression remained neutral, he shrugged one shoulder as he looked through the glass. For so long, he'd been a casual observer. Waiting in the wings for the right moment to get involved. Even his bestowal of power on those three individuals was more subtle an involvement than he would have liked. Now, though? Now... he was ready to take a more direct approach. A lot, at least regarding his plans, would hinge on their response to his proposal. He didn't think Namatame would be responsive to his suggestion, and he _really_ didn't want to have to give another person the power, so his hope was that they'd listen. That they'd want to get out of here. Pulling his hat off his head, he slid a hand through his hair and gave them a knowing smile, publicly breaking the Gas Station Attendant character for the first time since he'd taken it on.

"I have a proposition for you."

*

Jude loved spring. Granted, sometimes, it made his allergies go insane, but the look of the colors changing on the trees was something that never grew old. Still, even with the bright colors, blooming flowers and reappearing green around him, the knot in his stomach wouldn't go away. It was a big day. After two months of emailing back and forth with his childhood best friend, Leia, she'd eagerly extended him an invitation to her wedding. Alvin's recent proposal had come as a surprise to absolutely no one in Nōsu-ichi, nor had Leia's instantaneous yes answer. What would be a surprise, Jude was willing to bet, was his appearance. It had only been three (almost four, now that he was thinking about it) years, sure, but since he left, it would be his first time seeing any of these people. And for the most part, he never thought he'd see them again.

Not to mention the fact that it was the first time any of them saw him with a romantic interest.

Across the small room in the hotel, Yosuke checked his guitar over. Even though Yosuke was his plus one, there was another reason he was there. As soon as Jude heard that he was invited to Leia's wedding, Leia had eagerly asked if Rise would be willing to perform. While a part of him hadn't wanted to bother her, a larger part of him wanted her there alongside Yosuke. The two of them would show how far he'd come. That he wasn't a loner anymore, and that the bullying that they always threw at him as a kid wouldn't bother him anymore.

Fortunately, Rise had been more than willing, and the condition that she bring Teddie was one that Leia was more than willing to adhere to. The harder condition, of course, had been to convince Yosuke to play alongside her... but they'd eventually succeeded.

Still, even with his support system partially intact, the feeling of anxiety wouldn't go away. He pushed the window open in front of him, taking a glance around the familiar city. Not much had changed. Not really. From the window, he could see the library, and the road that led to the school... his old house wasn't even that far. The walk down memory lane was strange. He honestly never thought he'd come back here again. When he'd left, he'd been more than happy to put all of this behind him. But maybe a glimpse of his old life wouldn't be as terrible as he felt like it was going to be.

 _Yeah,_ he thought. _Maybe it won't be so bad._ Thinking it was one thing, but actually convincing himself was another.

As the breeze from the window whipped around him, he stretched his shoulder and groaned at the feeling. The bullet wound had healed, for the most part; he'd even started training with Chie again. But from time to time, when he stretched his arm just right, the tightness of his muscles still got to him. His hand raised to touch the mended skin on his shoulder; the slight indent in his skin still took him by surprise sometimes. It was over a year ago now. Over a year since that chapter of his friends' adventure had ended. A lot had changed since then.

Chie was a full-fledged cop now, working alongside Detective Dojima as a rookie partner, filling the spot vacated by Adachi. Yukiko was actually running the Amagi Inn, and the pair of them lived together at the inn itself now. Kanji had surprised everyone by revealing himself as an undercover informant, working alongside Naoto on the Inaba petty theft case. He was something of a town hero now, having caught the thieves with his own two hands, more or less. Naoto was lauded right alongside him, the mastermind of the capture. Rise's second album was around the corner, and she and Teddie were still riding the train of success on their show, though it was on winter hiatus for the time being, to be picked up in the summer again. Elize and Ken were in high school now, and it seemed that spending their time with the group had helped their confidence. Elize was in the school's choir, and Ken was on the soccer team, a real night and day change from when they'd met the kids a year ago. Even Yosuke had started taking part time classes at the community college, and he played music on weekends at a cafe in Okina. It was just fun, he said, but the owner of the cafe and everyone who came in always told him how talented he was, and how he should really think about doing it on a more permanent basis.

Everyone was moving ahead. Well, most everyone.

Jude, for his part, wasn't. Not as much as he wanted to, anyway. He had tried quitting at the hospital a couple of times, but every time he worked up the courage, every time he considered going into the front office and putting in his two weeks notice, he thought of the conversation with his father. And it stopped him. It was at the point where Yosuke would ask him if he'd quit yet when he walked through the door in the evening. His cowardice kept him stagnant. And if he didn't man up soon, he'd be stuck with it forever. The thought was haunting.

For most people, a near death experience was enough to make them do that one thing they'd always wanted to do. But apparently that was just another way that Jude was weird. That he wasn't like everyone else. He breathed out slowly. All he was doing was psyching himself out, worrying himself about things that he didn't need to think about right now. And the more he did that, the crazier he'd drive himself.

"Raincloud?"

Yosuke's voice came as a surprise, and Jude found himself jumping and turning around. He was obviously deeper in thought than he'd initially believed. "Oh. Um..." he paused, chewing on his lip. "Yeah. I guess so."

Quietly, Yosuke stood up and walked across the room, stopping in front of Jude and placing a hand on his shoulder. In his peripheral vision, Jude saw that Yosuke's tie wasn't tied quite right, so he took the chance to distract his mind and give himself something simple to focus on. He reached up and untied the disheveled mess, before quickly busying himself with retying it.

Yosuke eyes slid up to catch Jude's. "Are you nervous?" he asked. 

A simple question, without a simple answer. But then, what had been simple between them? Jude chuckled awkwardly and nodded once. "Y-yeah," he murmured, looping the smooth fabric in his fingers.

"You have no reason to be," Yosuke pointed out, raising his chin to make it easier for Jude to fix his tie. "First of all, Rise, Ted and me will be there with you." That, admittedly, was the most comforting thing about it. "And if you think that any of us are going to let anyone talk crap about you, you're sorely mistaken. And I don't think Leia would, either."

The smile on his face was gentle, and it made one corner of Jude's mouth quirk up in return. "That's part of it, but it's not... it's not really that." He chewed on his lip. "I don't think there's a lot they can say that will really bother me, and I have to hope that they've matured past the point of stupid bullying." God, he hoped so. He straightened the tie, now that he'd finished tying it and looked up at Yosuke with a nervous little grin.

Yosuke straightened the lapels on Jude's jacket. "Well then what is it?" he asked.

How did he explain? "None of the people here really know me." The sentence itself wasn't a good explanation, no, but he had to hope that Yosuke understood. "They know me as that weird, quiet kid who would rather read than make friends or play sports." He wet his lips. "Which... which, I guess, is kind of who I am, but they don't..."

"But they don't know the person who is the one of the two best martial artists I know. They don't know the person who always does whatever he can to make sure everyone around him feels good. They don't know the person who literally laid his life on the line to catch Adachi." The smile faded from Yosuke's lips momentarily when he said that, but he replaced it quickly. "They don't you for the brilliant, kind, brave, gentle person you are." He paused, then shrugged one shoulder. "So, show them. Show them how much you've changed over the past couple of years."

To Jude, all of that felt like a lot of bragging. He was terrible at talking himself up; didn't think he'd accomplished anything too spectacular. "You know how I am about talking myself up." That was one thing that he'd probably never be good at, honestly.

But as usual, Yosuke pushed over the tower of uncertainty. Or, at least, he tried to. "It's not talking yourself up if it's actually true," he pointed out. When Jude didn't say anything, Yosuke held steadily onto the lapels of his coat, and pulled him in for a gentle kiss. "It'll be alright, Jude. I promise. As much as you disagree, you've grown a lot. You're not the same person you used to be, and Rise, Ted and me will help you prove it."

The momentary comfort he felt was immediately squashed by the realization that it was time to go. He swallowed thickly. He may not have fully believed it, but if he let that feeling reign supreme, he would never want to leave the room. "Alright." His voice was obviously not fully sincere, but he meant it, at least right then. "Alright. Let's... let's go."

For better or worse... this was happening. He could only hope it would be for better.


	2. Restart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A wedding and a load of bad news.

**March 15th, 2016**

The wedding was almost like fairytale. All things considered, it was an average exchanging of vows. It was even normal aesthetically, decorated in pale yellow and white streamers. As normal as it was, though, Jude could see the complete adoration that Leia and Alvin mirrored at each other. They'd always loved each other, though. Even back in high school, when their eleven year age difference had seemed insurmountable, and they hadn't been allowed to date, they'd loved each other. Every time they looked at one another, they smiled so much that it was almost like their faces were going to explode, and the work that they'd gone through to get to where they were showed as plain as day. It was obvious enough to capture even the least discerning of eyes. Despite that however, over the course of the ceremony, Jude felt eyes on his group several times, and he had a difficult time determining if it was because of Rise and Teddie, and their celebrity status, because none of them had seen Jude for so long, or curious people, wondering who Jude's date was.

It was probably all three.

Whatever it was, it made Jude anxious. He got embarrassingly fidgety every time someone looked their way, as much as he tried not to. But, so not to seem too standoffish, he waved every once in awhile when he saw a familiar face, then blushed when they turned to talk to their neighbor. Shortly after each time that happened, he would feel a squeeze on his hand and turn to see Yosuke's supportive gaze from his left, and then Rise and Teddie's from his right.

That settled the fact that he'd never be able to do this without them. He just wished that somehow, there had been a way for him to bring everyone else, too.

After the wedding, the whole party piled into the reception hall. The reception was the most elaborate thing that Jude had ever seen, at least as far as weddings were concerned. Alvin was a businessman of means, and the amount he loved Leia saw to it that he did whatever he had to do to get her what she wanted to make it perfect. The decor was yellow and white, and the walls were decorated with enlarged pictures of Leia and Alvin with friends and family. Jude knew that Alvin wasn't close with his family, and he was likely even _more_ distant, now that he was married to Leia. That explained the lack of pictures from his side of the family, as well as the fact that there were only a couple members of his family even there.

Yosuke and Rise's stage stood against the far wall, and it was decorated in the same yellow streamers, and cornered with yellow roses. It was small, but large enough for the pair of them. He heard Leia reveal that the music was going to be a combination of a DJ and live music, which was a relief to Jude. It meant that he wouldn't spend the whole time with just Teddie. Not that he minded, but it was hard to reign Teddie in sometimes, and Rise was about ten times better than Jude was at it.

"Oh! So _that's_ why they're called finger sandwiches!" Teddie's excited voice boomed, as he stuffed a sandwich into his mouth. "You're so smart, Jude! But wait... would mine be called a paw sandwich?"

Jude chuckled softly and shook his head no. "Only when you're in your suit, Teddie," he half-joked, as he took a sip from his champagne glass, turning his eyes to the stage to glance at Yosuke.

He looked just as 'at home' as Rise was on stage. The smile on his face as he sang backup on one of Rise's ballads was like almost none that Jude had ever seen. Jude had always thought, in the depths of his heart, that Yosuke belonged on stage. The way he effortlessly strummed along with the music, with absolutely no other accompaniment, just served to drive that point home. When he caught Yosuke's gaze for a second, they shared a grin. Yosuke's eyes twinkled with excitement, and his lips moved effortlessly to harmonize with Rise's voice. If Jude hadn't been so sure beforehand that he was in love, that sight would have done it.

It made Jude wonder if there was anything that made him smile like that, but right now it really wasn't that important. Especially since, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Leia hurrying up to him with an excited expression on her face. When she got within range, she reached her arms out and pulled him into a tight bear hug. It wasn't like he didn't get hugs. Yosuke hugged him all the time, and so did Rise and the girls, but memory served that Leia hugs were pretty intense. And it seemed that memory was serving him well. Jude smiled and hugged her back. This was actually the first time he'd seen her since high school, so the fact that she still hugged the same, that she still seemed like the same old Leia, was a big relief.

"Hey Leia," Jude spoke softly, patting the new bride on the back. "Congratulations."

Leia's voice was exuberant and excitable as ever as she squeezed him in response. "I'm so glad you're here Jude. And that you brought Risette and your friends with you!" She released Jude from the hug and looked at him closely for a minute. “Look at you. You look so good!” She ruffled his hair affectionately and beamed. "You're not as sickly skinny as you used to be and you aren't as pale... you look so good!" she repeated.

He chuckled softly. "Yeah, Okina has been good to me. Well, Inaba and then Okina, anyway." The torrent of compliments was a little bit embarrassing, but he took them.

"So, is that him?" Leia asked, glancing at Yosuke up on stage with a mischievous grin. "Of course that's him. You said he'd be on stage with Risette. Which, by the way, I can't _believe_ you got freakin' Risette to perform at my wedding. You're the best, Jude." Switching gears right back to nosy Leia, she nudged Jude's shoulder. "He's cute!"

Before Jude had a chance to respond, Teddie appeared behind Leia, stuffing a sixth finger sandwich into his mouth and looked at Leia excitedly. "You make a really pretty bride!" he exclaimed.

"Thanks! That was the plan!" Leia paused, momentarily racking her brain for a name. "That's Yosuke, so you're... Teddie, right? Oh! You're Risette's costar!" She beamed wide when Teddie nodded, all full-mouth and chipmunk cheeks, in response. "Look at me, with a celebrity wedding! Never would have thought!" 

Leia's excitement garnered a few stares from some of Leia's family members and Jude's old pre-Inaba classmates. When they noticed Jude? That was when the whispers started. He couldn't really blame them; he'd always been the different kid, after all. But it seemed that he'd been right about things after all. People really hadn't let go of the past. Leia seemed to take notice, and cleared her throat in apology. "Sorry. But you've gotta understand, they haven't seen you since you left for Inaba. They're a little surprised to see you here. A lot of them probably figured you'd never look back when you left."

Jude frowned. "Yeah. I know." And honestly, he'd have been more surprised if they didn't stare. He was okay with it, though. Growing up with these people, they'd always stared at him, and he hadn't expected this to be any different.

As if they'd sensed his anxiety (and maybe they had, Rise and Yosuke had always been decently perceptive like that), Rise announced to everyone that they were going to take a break. They hopped down from the stage and started to make their way toward Jude and Leia. Thankful didn't even begin to cover how Jude was feeling. While Teddie was good at keeping his anxiety from mounting, having his best friends at his side would make it that much better.

"So, how long have you two actually been together? A long time? Or is it a recent development?" Leia asked as she turned her head away from the stage.

The question was both simpole and difficult to answer. Jude wasn't really sure how to answer it. They were "together" in a non-technical sense, but they really hadn't labeled themselves together yet. Which was fine, because it was more or less unnecessary, as far as Jude was concerned. He shrugged and pondered for a second. "It's been about a year now that we've _really_ been a thing, but we've both been into each other for way longer than that." Embarrassingly long, honestly.

Leia nodded. "I remember you saying that in your emails. That's so like you, too. To sit on your hands and suffer rather than just take what you want." She nudged him in the shoulder.

Jude chuckled awkwardly. Of course there were things about the situation that Leia could never really understand, like the situation with Souji and so many other things that just made it complicated, but Jude didn't feel the need to bring that up right now. "But I did end up taking it in the end, didn't I?" he asked, pausing when he felt Yosuke's hand on his shoulder. He turned and smiled, watching as Rise approached Teddie.

"You guys are great!" Leia told Rise and Yosuke. "Thank you so much for doing this."

Rise smiled and shook her head. "Don't mention it. I couldn't resist the chance to come and see where Jude grew up, anyway." She turned and gave Jude a supportive smile.

Yosuke nodded a greeting to Leia. "The wedding was really nice, by the way. You guys really went all out." He glanced around the reception hall and gave a little chuckle. "On everything, really. No wonder you were looking for a discount wedding performer." He slid his hands in his pockets, and pointedly brushed his arm against Jude's.

Yeah. Jude was having the same trouble, honestly. Every couple there were holding hands, dancing, standing with their arms around their love in a show of affection... it was hard for Jude not to be able to do that, too. He supposed they could. The worst thing that could happen would be some strange stares or some questioning whispers. And it wasn't like he really needed to see any of these people after today's event was over anyway, but... they all seemed to think highly of Yosuke at the moment, and Jude really didn't want to ruin that for him.

Yosuke seemed to have other plans, though. Teddie had found his way back to the refreshment table, and Rise and Leia were talking excitedly about something-or-another (Jude had a suspicion that it involved him, because he saw Rise gesture excitedly toward him a couple of times), when he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. He turned to glance at Yosuke with an eyebrow arched in intrigue.

"Hm?" Jude couldn't help it, he found himself marveling at how incredible Yosuke looked, all loose tie and messy fawn-colored hair. And he couldn't hide the little grin he quirked in response to that.

Nodding his head to a nearby exit, Yosuke grabbed hold of Jude's arm and gave him a little smile. "Come with me," he suggested in a slightly hushed tone. "I was scoping the place out from the stage, looking for somewhere for us to get a second or two to ourselves, and I saw this." He stopped in front of a sliding glass door that led to a porch, covered with curtains from the inside. In a quick motion, Yosuke opened the door and urged for Jude to go outside.

Which he did, willingly.

The air outside seemed a lot lighter than the air in the reception hall, anyway. Maybe it was because it was just he and Yosuke. Or maybe it was because he couldn't see all the eyes of the people he used to know staring at him. But whatever it was, he found himself leaning over the railing of the back porch and sighing softly in relief.

"You had a raincloud in there. I could tell."

Jude chuckled a lttle bit, a humorless chuckle, when he heard Yosuke from behind him. "Yeah. I was trying not to rain all over the wedding." The joke fell flat, Jude could tell it did.

Yosuke leaned beside him on the railing and grabbed his attention with a shoulder nudge. "Talk to me. Are you having a hard time being around all of these people you used to know, or..." he trailed off. Somehow, he wasn't uncomfortable or nervous about being so close to Jude in a semi-public place like this.

Jude paused. "No." He paused. "Yes." Another pause. "Kind of..." He chuckled awkwardly. "I mean, it's not like I'm worried. After today, I never really have to see them again, right? It's just weird to be back here. Last time I was here, I was kind of a ghost-whipping boy combination. I'm a lot better equipped to handle that now than I was back then, especially since you, Teddie and Rise are with me. It's just..." He trailed off, unsure of how to finish his sentence.

"Awkward?" As usual, before Jude even knew what he wanted to say, Yosuke was finishing the sentence for him. When Jude nodded, Yosuke gently slid their hands together in front of them out of view of anyone inside the reception hall. "Has anyone tried to talk to you? Aside from Leia?"

Jude shook his head no.

"Have you tried to talk to anyone other than Leia?"

After a brief pause, Jude shook his head again.

Yosuke squeezed his hand and gave him an encouraging smile. "You should. Remember what I said at the hotel?" he asked. Nudging Jude with his shoulder, he kept an encouraging expression on his face. "Give them a chance to see the new Jude Mathis. To see how wrong they all were about you." He paused and grinned a little. "Show them why I love you."

A year, and Jude still loved hearing Yosuke use those words. He turned the thought over in his head a couple of times, and then shrugged. Sure, it was a risk. But Jude was pretty okay with risk-taking lately. Maybe. Maybe he'd try it, the next time he caught someone staring at him. But for now, he felt like he needed to say something.

"You look pretty amazing on stage, you know?" His eyes turned to glance at Yosuke now. "Right at home. Like a star already."

Smirking, Yosuke glanced at the long, winding, wisteria path in the distance. "You think so?" he asked, shrugging a shoulder and glancing back at Jude. "I think it's because I felt at home." It wasn't the first time Yosuke had admitted that to him; that he felt at home on stage. But somehow, this one felt more candid. "I always used to think that I felt at home on the stage back in Okina because I knew everyone at the restaurant. But I don't know. I guess this is... maybe this means..."

When Yosuke trailed off, Jude looked up at him with a smile. "That the stage is where you're meant to be," he replied with a nod. "I've always thought so." Maybe it was partial loveblind loyalty, but it was mostly genuine belief that Yosuke belonged on the stage.

Turning toward Jude with a smile on his face, Yosuke snuck a peek toward the window to make sure no one was looking. Then, he leaned down and pressed a kiss to Jude's lips, with a warm, gentle hand on his cheek. "Thank you. For always believing in me," he whispered.

"You always believe in me. What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn't do the same?" Jude asked.

Yosuke paused and smirked. "Boyfriend. You know, I think that's the first time either of us have ever really used that word..." he intimated, using a thumb to brush some of Jude's hair out of his face. "I don't know why, honestly. It's been true for months now."

Jude's face was already strawberry pink, but he nodded his head. "I... I didn't say it because I wasn't sure if you'd..." he trailed off, biting his lip in embarrassment.

With a shake of his head and a satisfied smile, Yosuke derailed the concern easily. "I like it. I love it. It's been true, like I said, so why wouldn't I?" he asked. How was it that without even trying, Yosuke could always make the worries Jude was feeling melt away into nothing?

Out of the corner of his eye, Jude spotted Leia making an excited face at them, with Alvin beside her, looking at them in intrigue. Rise was behind them, with Teddie at her side, smiling with her whole face like she always did when she saw Yosuke and Jude having a moment like this. Yosuke didn't move his hand from Jude's, or take his other hand off of Jude's shoulder, right away. Instead, he turned back to Jude and half-smiled.

"So, you think I have Leia's approval?" he asked with a half-smile, squeezing Jude's hand before letting his hands fall back to his sides.

Jude lamented the loss of contact, but he knew that it probably wouldn't be the best idea for the pair of them to go into the wedding holding hands. "Well, considering she looks like she's going to burst like an over-inflated balloon, I'd say yes. But you know. Maybe she's changed so much since I've been gone that I don't know for sure." He had a wry little smirk on his face.

"Come on," Yosuke nudged Jude with a smile on his face. "I should probably get ready to go back out on stage."

*

All in all, the evening had been a success. Yosuke and Rise had been a massive hit, and they already had a couple of offers from some of Leia's family members to come and play at a few events. At one point, Rise had even told Jude that she was considering asking if Yosuke could be a part of her back-up band when she took idol singing back up. _"Don't tell Yosuke right away, okay? Just in case my manager says no. I don't want to excite him only to have it taken away,"_ she'd said, and Jude had agreed.

Still, the urge to give him that tidbit of good news had been overwhelming. For now, though, he kept it to himself as he sat in bed, half-reading, half-thinking.

When all was said and done, he was glad he'd come here. The defining moment of the night had been when the soccer player who'd made him question his sexuality had approached him, thanking him and telling him that he, too, was in a stable and happy relationship with another man. Sure, he still got a few odd looks and yeah, it was a little bit unnerving, but that moment, as well as his time spent on the balcony with Yosuke, had been worth it.

And he'd left with a vague plan to see Leia again sometime soon, which was also nice.

Jude smiled and turned his attention back to his book, when he heard a gentle, rhythmic rapping against the door. For a minute, he was a little confused. It was around midnight. Yosuke was asleep beside him, and Rise and Teddie were asleep in the next room, weren't they? For a split second, anxiety mounted, but he tamped it back for now and gently removed Yosuke's arm from around his waist. As he stood, he set his book down, grabbed his shirt and headed for the door.

He peered through the spy-hole to find an anxious-looking Rise standing on the other side, fiddling with the strings to the over-sized hoodie she had over her shoulders. Opening the door quietly, so not to wake Yosuke, Jude stepped outside. "Rise?"

Rise waited until he closed the door to speak, but when she did speak, Jude was a little concerned. Rather than a greeting, or any friendly pleasantries, she just jumped right into the topic. That was when Jude knew it was serious. "So... there was a breaking news bulletin on just now." She brushed a hand through her hair, then paused as she saw someone a few doors down shuffling out of their room. "I, um... come with me. We shouldn't..." she subtly nodded her head in the direction of the man. "Not here."

It was then that Jude realized that he _definitely_ wasn't going to like what she was saying. But, fighting back that concern, he grabbed his coat from where it hung against a chair by the hotel room door, then his shoes from the floor, and quietly closed the door again. It was honestly a miracle that Yosuke wasn't waking up, but maybe Jude shouldn't have been surprised. He'd had a busy and exciting day, and they'd exerted a little bit of energy together before they'd gone to bed, so... it was only natural that he be out like a light.

The thought would have made him smile if Rise didn't look so frantic.

Now, as Rise led them toward Jude's car, she heaved a heavy sigh. Once again, she pushed some hair from her face and looked at Jude with worry lining her eyes. He was just about to ask her what was wrong, when she opened up on her own.

"I think... I think Souji and Adachi broke out of prison somehow." Her voice was still quiet and conspiratorial, even outside with no one else around. She pushed herself up to sit on the hood of Jude's car and looked up at him like she expected him to tell her that she was crazy.

But he didn't. He was just concerned, and wondering how she'd come to the conclusion. Rise's "feelings" were rarely ever off-base, for better or for worse. Her intuition was on-par with a psychic's, and if she was right about this, then yeah. It was definitely worthy of concern. He brushed a hand through his hair this time, looking from Rise, to the pavement beneath his feet, then back up to Rise.

"Aren't you going to tell me that it's impossible?" she asked him hopefully. "That they're in, like, maximum security and there's no way that they could get out?"

Shaking his head no, Jude pushed himself up to sit beside her on the hood of the car. "No," he replied, a somber tone lining his voice. He wished he could, but people escaped from prison far too often, so there was no way to confirm or deny without knowing the whole story. "Why do you... what gives you that idea?" Just thinking of Adachi made him anxious. More anxious than the thought of Souji did, even though both men had almost killed both he and Yosuke at one point or another.

Rise sighed again, like she was hoping that Jude would call her crazy, then folded her hands in her lap. "The news bulletin said that two prisoners escaped from Mabusi Maximum Security Correctional facility." Jude frowned when she said that; that was the prison that the pair were in, alright. "But not just that they escaped..." she trailed off, sighed and looked down at the ground. "They, like... vanished. Without a trace. Completely. Their stuff was still in their cells, but they were gone."

 _Okay,_ Jude couldn't help but think, _that definitely sounds bad..._ He glanced down at the ground for a minute, pondering what could have happened. "So... do you think... could they have found a way to get into a TV there when no one was looking?" He wasn't sure what was more troubling; the thought that maybe they'd managed to escape like that, or the thought that the prison was so poorly guarded that they could go into a television without being noticed.

Shrugging, Rise pursed her lips. "This... I really hope this is just speculation and that we're way off base, but..." a long pause, and Rise's eyes never left the ground when she said, "yeah. That's what I think happened."

Honestly, Jude wasn't as surprised as he wanted to be about the fact that this was a possibility. A year ago, Adachi had said that there was something "bigger than them" out there. Could the something bigger have sprung Souji and Adachi from prison to continue their game? As disturbing a thought as it was, Jude was, once again, more concerned about what this meant for his friends. The leaps, bounds and strides they'd taken to get past everything that had happened to them were incredible. To have those all erased just by the news that their biggest enemies were on the loose again... that was terrifying.

"Have you told Teddie yet?" he asked.

Rise shook her head no. "He was sleeping when I was flipping channels. I came over to you and Yosuke's room as soon as I heard. I was going to tell whoever was up. Whoever answered..." She glanced back up to Jude and silently pleaded with him to guide her somehow. "What do we do?" she asked.

Pulling in a deep sigh, Jude pondered that for a moment. There were a few options, and none of them were particularly appealing. They could wake Yosuke and Teddie, and have a mini-meeting, but honestly, he had a feeling that would end up stressing everyone out more than was necessary. They could call Naoto and get her advice; Naoto was always a fount of knowledge when it came to things like this. But the wisest course of action was to, "wait until tomorrow. Let Teddie and Yosuke sleep tonight. We can tell them on the ride back to Okina, and then contact the others from there. Chie, Yukiko, Ken and Elize are going to meet us at the apartment, so..." he sighed, "so we can tell them then. Maybe they'll know for sure." Chie was a cop, after all.

"And what about now?" she asked. If Jude knew Rise at all, which he was fairly certain he did, he knew that she would dwell on this until she got some sort of answer.

With that in mind, and fully aware that this was likely like asking a brick wall to move, he suggested, "try not to dwell on it too much." His tone was understanding, like he was going to have trouble with that, too. "Right now, there's nothing we can really do. Not until we know if we're right or not."

Nodding, Rise leaned over and hugged Jude tightly. "Yeah," she murmured helpelessly. "But what if it's them?" Her voice was meek, not the exuberant Rise Kujikawa he was used to.

What if it _was_ them? The pair of men in question haunted Jude's dreams far more than he was willing to admit. He had nightmares of them successfully killing Yosuke and the others, of Yosuke choosing Souji over him, of the day Adachi had shot him... too many nights, he woke up abruptly after dreaming of some way those two had tormented him. And now there was a chance that they were out of jail again. So, if it was true, what did they do from there?

"We take care of things," he told Rise, pushing off from the hood of the car and suggesting that she do the same thing. "Once and for all this time."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I'm finally back after... what, a year? My apologies. It took me a little bit longer than I'd expected to plan out how I wanted this to end, and by the time I figured it out, I had real-life drama up to my ears. But now, as it stands, I have the whole thing pretty well planned out, as well as a couple of little off-shoots from different points in the story, and some extras. I should be back with regular updates now!


	3. Confirmed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A tarot reading and important revelations.

**March 16th, 2016**

_"It's been a while since we last summoned you here."_

 _The voice seemed familiar to Yosuke, like something out of a different lifetime, or out of a dream he'd had years ago. It wasn't until his eyes focused that he remembed where he was. He'd been here before. In a dream. This blue airplane, the people in dark blue clothes, and the man with the impossibly long nose... he'd come here in his sleep back after Jude had gotten shot. The more time that had passed without the dream recurring, the more he'd been willing to believe that it_ was _just a dream... but here he was again. He chewed on his lip as he looked around._

_Finally gathering his thoughts enough to form a sentence, he looked at the man and woman. "Dream and reality, mind and matter, right? Igor?" It may have been a long time ago, but at the very least, he remembered that part._

_The man with the long nose seemed pleased at this fact. "I see that you remember us. That's good. It makes this a lot easier." He glanced over at the woman next to him and smiled. "And this is Margaret, my assistant. I don't believe I introduced the two of you last time."_

_The woman beside him nodded a greeting, and Yosuke couldn't help but be slightly intimidated by her strong presence. Fortunately, she wasn't saying much of anything right now. Just watching him with interest._

_Igor held his hand out over the table in front of him, and a spread of tarot cards appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, all face down. "Let's see what the cards hold for you, shall we?" he asked, though to Yosuke, the question seemed more or less like a formality. He was going to read the cards whether Yosuke approved or not. Yosuke had never really believed in things like this, but he'd hear the man out._

_"Sure..." Yosuke muttered._

_The woman beside Igor seemed intrigued by this development, and Yosuke found himself glancing between the pair nervously. They knew something _about_ something, and he found himself wishing that they'd just open up and tell him what it was, but he got the feeling that asking would be more or less like talking to a brick wall. So, he stretched his shoulders and relaxed in his seat, wondering what these cards held for him._

_With a flick of his wrist, one of the cards lifted from the table and Igor examined it to himself for a second. "Hm," he pondered outwardly, before revealing the card to Yosuke. "Death, in the upright position. This symbolizes a change or a transformation in the future." He handed the card to his assistant, who examined it in her hand for a moment, then set it down beside her. Igor then returned to the table in front of him, and brought forth another card. "The reversed world," he explained, his voice lilting in interest._

_From the very limited amount that Yosuke knew about tarot cards, he knew that reversed cards generally meant bad things, so he was a little bit worried, but he kept his voice level enough to ask, "what does that mean?"_

_Igor hummed thoughtfully, then handed the card to Margaret. "The world in reverse signifies a lack of closure, or that something in your world is not complete."_

_That caught Yosuke's attention, and he wondered what it could mean. "Lack of closure..." His eyes widened, and he looked at Igor eagerly. "Do you mean that we're finally going to get some answers about the other side? You guys helped Souji, too, does this mean-"_

_With a bemused chuckle, Igor cut him off. "We'll deal with all of that another day. For now, just know that the time that we show you your true potential is right around the corner."_

*

Yosuke had awoken with more questions than he ever recalled having when waking upon the morning. Jude had already been awake when he woke up, and had apparently been awake for most of the night prior. _"I got about four hours,"_ he'd explained, and Yosuke wondered about the reason for the sleepless night. It'd been awhile since the last time he'd had a night like this, at least as far as Yosuke had remembered, so... why now?

Because of that worry, Yosuke had decided not to tell Jude about the dream right away. Something was off. He could tell. The last thing he wanted to do was add another worry to Jude's plate.

The heavy amosphere had continued, too, until they got outside. Yosuke had expected that, if anything, being around Rise and Teddie would lighten the mood. But Rise looked like her world had just ended, too. Teddie didn't seem to know why, and he seemed somewhat convinced that he'd done something wrong.

"She's been acting like this since I woke up this morning," Teddie explained, an uncharacteristic maturity and sadness draped over his words. He was really worried. Even back in the day, he'd never really been this serious.

Yosuke hummed thoughtfully as he looked at the pair, talking quietly and conspiratorially about something or another. Jude dropped the suitcase that he was holding in his hands, stopped, and hugged Rise as though he was trying to calm her. That was when Yosuke realized that something was seriously wrong. He grabbed Teddie by the shoulder and pulled him up to the pair. When they approached, Jude stopped talking and let Rise out of the hug.

Almost immediately, Rise turned around and put on that fake TV smile that she used to wear all the time, before she got comfortable with the group. "Ready to head home, superstar?" she asked Yosuke.

Shaking his head no, Yosuke glanced from Rise to Jude, who wasn't meeting anyone's eye. He'd always been terrible at concealing his feelings to _anyone_ , let alone Yosuke. "I'd actually rather the pair of you tell Ted and me why you're acting so weird," he told them plainly.

"Weird? We're n-"

Yosuke cut Rise off and shook his head. "Because right now, you've got Ted worried sick that he did something wrong. And I'm starting to worry that something's seriously wrong with one of you, so..." he motioned to the pair of them with his head, and looked at them expectantly. "Out with it."

The pair of them exchanged a look, and then Jude looked at Yosuke with concern. He sighed and nodded, picking up the suitcase in front of him and putting it into the trunk. "Not here. Alright? It's not really, um... public talk." He scratched a hand through his hair nervously and sighed heavily. Meeting Yosuke's eyes, he gave him an apologetic look.

And Yosuke was worried all over again. Whether or not something was wrong with one of them... this was going to be a hell of a bombshell. He could tell by the look on Jude's face.

What it turned out to be was the very last thing he expected. At least... that was what he wanted to say, as he sat in the passenger's seat of Jude's car, listening to Rise and Jude tell him what they suspected. But the fact of the matter was that he _could_ and _did_ believe it. As much as he wished he didn't. Carding a hand through his hair, he sighed and looked at Rise in the back seat. She looked horrified to even have to be talking about Souji and Adachi again. Like she felt like she'd just ruined his life with a few words. A couple of years ago, maybe that would have been true, but he'd come a long way since then. Yeah, he was a little--okay, a lot--concerned as to how Souji and Adachi had gotten out of jail, but at least now he knew what Igor had meant, in his dream.

"So, they escaped into the other world?" Yosuke asked. Not that any of them had the real answers right now, but it was more or less an arbitrary question to fill the sad and worried silence.

Rise nodded her head. "That's what I think," she explained. "We don't really know, obviously, but... like... how else could they have vanished without a trace? They couldn't scale the walls, there's no way that they would've left no trace behind, right?" She looked at Teddie, frowning. "I'm sorry I worried you."

Teddie gave her an easy smile and shook his head no. "I'm just glad there's nothing wrong with you or Jude. I was _beary_ worried."

Turning his head to look at Teddie in the rear view mirror, Jude sighed. "We were going to tell you on the way home, we were just trying to figure out a way to bring it up. It's not one of those things that..." he trailed off and sighed, turning his eyes to Yosuke. "I'm sorry, too, though. We really didn't want to worry you. That's what we were trying to avoid."

Shaking his head and sighing, Yosuke glanced back out the window. "It's alright." He wasn't fond of worrying, not really, but he understood their intent, in this case. "It's one of those things that... how do you even bring it up?" He wet his lips and brushed some wayward hair from his eyes. He had his own 'one of those things,' didn't he? Sighing, he stared straight ahead and said, "speaking of which, I have one of those things, too."

That was a safe start, right?

As Rise and Teddie stared at him expectantly, and Jude's expression was interested as he watched the road, Yosuke delved into explanation of his dream (dream _s_ , as he had to tell Rise and Teddie about the initial dream a year ago, too), about the Velvet Room, and about Igor and Margaret. He explained that Souji's persona-switching power originated from that room, and that he wasn't sure, still, if it was even really real. He explained about his "tarot reading," the cards and what Igor explained that they meant, and then he let out a deep, long sigh.

"I guess..." he paused, "I guess he could've been talking about Adachi and Souji. But he was so vague. How do I know?"

Jude wet his lips and frowned. "I think it's a little bit too convenient to just be a coincidence, don't you?" he asked. His tone obviously showed his concern. Yosuke made a point to talk to him about it later.

Yosuke went quiet, and pressed his lips together tightly as he stared out the window. Souji had escaped. Honestly, he felt like maybe they should have expected this sooner. There were televisions in prisons, and how in the hell were they supposed to request some kind of detainment without televisions? They'd all sound like nutjobs. But maybe that was what they had to do.

He felt Jude's hand on his arm and turned back to look at everyone again.

"Maybe Naoto will have some insight," Jude offered to the group. They relied on Naoto's instinct and intelligence a lot, yeah, but she really was the one of them with the levelest head, and the one who always seemed to be three steps ahead of the game.

Rise nodded. "Chie, too. Chie's a cop too now, so she'll probably know something." And this was one of those things that she'd more than likely break the rules and tell them about, too.

"Rise and me can go check the other side for any signs of them, too. Maybe we can get the whole group together at Junes tomorrow." Teddie looked at Rise, who nodded her agreement.

As if by telepathy, Yosuke got two texts at the same time. He fished his phone from his pocket and opened it up, glancing at the screen. "It looks like Naoto and Chie are already two steps ahead of you guys. Not that I'd expect anything less." He offered his phone to Rise, who read the texts out loud to the rest of the group.

__**Naoto Shirogane**  
> SOMETHING IMPORTANT HAS COME UP.  
> INVESTIGATION TEAM MEETING, TOMORROW AT JUNES?  
> TIME TBD. 

__**Chie Satonaka**  
> so, i've got some kinda bad news.  
> gonna meet you in okina.  
> bringing yukiko, ken and elize, too. 

*

As promised, Chie was waiting in the parking lot next to Yosuke and Jude's apartment. Rise and Teddie had agreed to stay with them for now, and catch the train back into Inaba later on that night. Of course they wanted to be there for the meeting. Yosuke would have been more surprised if they hadn't. He didn't even make it two steps out of the car, before he heard an excitable voice getting closer, and then Elize's arms were around his waist in an eager greeting hug.

"You're back!" she beamed up at him.

He shouldn't have really been surprised by the excitement anymore; Elize always acted this way when she saw him. Like he was more of a big brother than an older friend. _Big bro,_ he mused inwardly, wondering if this was what Souji had felt when Nanako said that to him... or if it was something entirely different. Who knew how Souji thought?

Yosuke ruffled her hair and nodded his head. "And my front!" he teased, which earned him a 'face' from the small blond.

"Hi Jude!" Elize hurried to the other side of the car and gave Jude the same kind of hug she'd given Yosuke, which made him smile a little bit. "I missed you guys!"

Ken's approach had been much slower, and his voice was amused when he said, "they were only gone for two days, Elly," before reaching a hand out to shake Yosuke's.

 _Far too mature for his own good,_ Yosuke thought, as he pushed Ken's hand aside and pulled him in for a hug. "Are you gonna pretend you didn't miss us, too, Ken?" he asked teasingly.

At first, Ken was hesitant, but then he relaxed and hugged Yosuke back. Yosuke understood. He was the more guarded of the two. He had to be, because Elize was so eager and trusting. But he needed to let loose sometime, or the world was going to weigh him down.

"I did," Ken admitted, smiling shyly up at Yosuke once the hug broke, and then going over to hug Jude similarly.

Jude with both of the kids standing on either side of him made a little bit of warmth swell up in Yosuke's chest, but Chie's presence snapped him out of that thought almost immediately. Not that he wasn't happy to see her and Yukiko; they greeted each other with hugs and hellos before mention of the mood-breaking topic.

Chie bit her lip and stepped out of her hug with Jude, before turning around and looking at everyone else. "So... we need to talk."

The walk to Yosuke and Jude's apartment was filled with small talk. Yosuke was sure it's purpose was a combination of 'we're all still best friends, obiously, and are really interested in one another's lives' and 'we really don't want to talk about the case in front of this whole apartment building.' Chie had asked about the wedding, and Yukiko had seemed _unusually_ interested in that topic, but Yosuke excused that with the fact that Yukiko had always been oddly interested in fairy tales.

Everyone got settled in, and the topic shifted immediately to less pleasant matters.

"So, this is probably about Adachi and Souji escaping, isn't it?" Yosuke was the one to bring it up, obviously.

Chie's eyes widened instantly, and then she looked at the kids. "Well, we um... we hadn't told them yet, but..."

"They escaped?" Elize's green eyes were wide as saucers as she stared at Yosuke.

Well, shit. Yosuke had figured that they'd have talked in the car on the way over, but he supposed that it would have been easier for Jude and Yosuke to tell the kids. But it was out there now, because Yosuke had stuck his foot in his mouth. Honestly, it had been awhile since he'd done that. Maybe he was a little bit overdue. Hissing an embarrassed sigh, he turned his attention to Elize and nodded his head. "We don't really know much more than that," _or do we?_ he thought as he glanced at Chie, "but yeah."

Though he was completely stunned, Ken didn't really need guiding to know who to ask. "Chie-san, do you have any information on how?"

Chie shook her head no. "Not really. Dojima-san got the call, though, and we went to the prison to check out the scene..." She reached for Yukiko's hand, a support system, and Yosuke found himself subconsciously looking for Jude's hand in response. Jude squeezed his hand, but didn't take his eyes off of Chie, who continued with a sigh. "The room was untouched. The beds were made, and all their personal effects were still put away super neatly. Like they were gonna come back at any time."

"Do the others know?" Jude asked.

Yukiko nodded. "Yeah. Naoto knew already. I think Dojima-san told her, in hopes that she'd help look for them," she explained. "She already told Kanji, and then she called us last night. She wanted to wait until you all got back from your vacation to tell you, though." 

Yosuke was both grateful for the consideration, and wishing that they'd been told when everyone else knew, but he didn't voice that right away. Elize looked terrified, and Yosuke wished that he hadn't just blurted things out like that, but he would make it up to her later. For now, it looked like Chie had something more to say.

And she did. "Naoto and I are worried about you two." Her voice was serious as she looked at Yosuke and Jude.

"Us?" Jude asked, pointing back and forth between himself and Yosuke.

Chie nodded. "Yeah. Like, we've all got history with them, obviously, but you two... you always seem to be at the brunt of whatever they do. Now that they're out..." she trailed off, then went completely silent.

But honestly, she didn't really need to finish. Yosuke knew where she was going. No one was safe, not really. Jude and Yosuke, though... they were especially unsafe. Adachi, at the very least, knew where their apartment was. What could they really do, though? "I mean, I'm worried too, but what can we do? Besides, if they escaped through the TV, they're stuck there, anyway, right?"

Yukiko frowned. "Naoto had the suggestion of going back to stay with your parents in Inaba for awhile." An unappealing suggestion, to say the least.

"No." And it seemed like Jude agreed. "I can't. I won't."

Rise looked at Jude with a mix of understanding and desperation, before saying, "but you can't stay here, Jude. What if-"

"I know..." Jude murmured. "But I can't stay with my fa--with my parents. I just... I can't, okay?"

The understanding outweighed the concern now, and Rise was nodding. "I know." She squeezed his arm gently.

It occurred to him that Jude still didn't really like to talk about his parents a lot. Yosuke knew the vague gist of it. His father was verbally abusive. Never physical, at least never that Jude admitted, but the verbal abuse had stayed with Jude for years. He dealt with it at work, so who could blame Jude for not wanting to deal with it at home, too? Yosuke squeezed his hand, too. "Yeah, I'd rather not stay with my folks either." His folks were the dream parents, especially in comparison to Jude's father, but... he still didn't want to give up his independence.

Humming thoughtfully, Yukiko gave them a soft smile. "Well then... how about the inn?" she asked. When everyone looked at her in stunned silence, she continued. "I wouldn't charge you. Not for something like this. And we have a whole bunch of rooms available right now, anyway."

Elize's concern faded into excitement now. "Yosuke and Jude would be in Inaba? You should!" she nodded excitedly at them. "You should totally do it!" Ken's face was just as excited, if slightly more subtly, beside her.

Jude chuckled a single chuckle at the kids' excitement, then looked at Yosuke. "What do you think?" he asked, lacing their fingers together.

"I think we're going to stay at the Amagi Inn for the time being," was the only answer he could think to give, with all of the expectant eyes on them at the moment. Whether it was the best plan in the world or the worst... that remained to be seen.


	4. Nothing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things aren't as simple as they seem.

**March 17th, 2016**

Being back in Inaba was equal parts strange and nice. The extra half-hour's sleep in the morning was _definitely_ nice, and being able to make the commute in five minutes rather than fourty was a bonus, too. But it was strange, having a "back where it all began" moment, especially with Souji and Adachi's escape looming over his head. As he, Jude and Yukiko walked to Junes to meet up with the rest of the group, he couldn't help but give a wistful little smile as they passed by the Samegawa and the road to the high school.

"Seems like a lifetime ago, doesn't it?" Yosuke asked Jude and Yukiko, as he turned his head back to them.

Jude looked from Yosuke to the road, then back to Yosuke, and chuckled softly. "I think that's how we officially know that we're adults. When we can look at the places we spent time as teenagers and get all wistful and stoic," he mused.

With a little smile, Yukiko shrugged her shoulders. "It might be a little bit different for me, because I'm still living here," she offered, brushing a hand through her hair and glancing at the Samegawa. "I mean, you two still come to town every day, yes, but coming and leaving like you do and still living here are two different situations, I think."

Yosuke nodded. Idly, he found himself pulling his hair into a short ponytail. It was longer than it had ever been, even if the ponytail itself only jutted itself out an inch from the base of his skull, and some of the pieces fell out and around his face. He'd thought about getting it cut, but Jude seemed to like it long like that, so he'd never actually cut it too short. Just trimmed it. At the wedding, Rise had joked that he looked like "one of those long haired guitarists," but he didn't care. If Jude was happy, he was happy. He just carried elastics around with him most of the time now.

"Probably," he replied. "Thanks, by the way. For putting us up."

Jude nodded eagerly in agreement. "Yeah, really," He smiled at Yukiko. "You're doing amazing with the inn. It looks like everyone there is really satisfied."

Beaming proudly, Yukiko nodded. "I'd like to think so," she intoned. "Oh! I meant to tell you!" She put a hand on Jude's arm and smiled happily at him. "Ina-san mentioned that your help in the kitchen was greatly appreciated, Jude. That curry chicken recipe you gave her was a huge hit. The guests loved it." Her voice was full of gratitude.

With a bashful smile on his face, Jude shook his head. "Don't mention it. I told Ina-san that I'd help while we were staying. She seemed really pleased," he chuckled.

Yosuke looked at the pair of them in surprise. "Helping out in the Amagi Inn kitchens, huh?" He made sure his pride shone through in his voice. "I knew there was something innately Jude about that curry chicken last night." He'd just thought that he was insane, or that everything he ate now tasted like Jude cooked it. _Maybe you just have Jude on the brain..._ his mind teased. Not surprising, and not an altogether bad thing.

"I always thought that Jude could be a five-star chef. Turns out I was right," Yukiko nodded sagely, like that was all there was to it.

Jude seemed to be pondering that quietly, and then he looked back at the ground in front of him with a little smile. "Maybe," he almost-agreed. His satisfied expression was one that Yosuke didn't expect, but definitely enjoyed. A little bit of self-satisfaction was good for him. He didn't get to feel it too often.

The walk to Junes was filled with Jude and Yukiko talking about different meal ideas that he had for the inn, and the more Yosuke listened, the more he started to suspect that Jude _would_ make a good member of the Amagi Inn's kitchen staff. He'd always been a natural cook, and was pretty good under pressure in situations like that. He didn't say that right now, though, because he knew that Jude hated being "ganged up on" when it came to talk of quitting working at the hospital. Yukiko would definitely get excited about the idea, too, and without meaning it, she may end up pushing Jude too much.

 _Not that that's bad. Sometimes he needs a little push._ Maybe later. Maybe when they at least had some kind of idea what was in store for them.

When the familiar automatic doors opened, Yosuke found himself looking around to see how busy the store was today. Would they be able to get into the TV world easily? Or would they be spotted? It seemed that they were fortunate, as usual, because the place was relatively quiet. There were no special sales happening or anything, and the time of day was actually pretty good for when you needed to get somewhere in the store unseen. He found his hand going to his pocket to feel for his TV glasses, and smiling when he found them there.

"You know, sometimes I wonder how teenage-me thought Junes was a good place for a meeting spot," Yosuke mused to Yukiko and Jude. "It's a miracle that we've never been caught before, between the security cameras and customers and employees."

Yukiko laughed softly as she opened the door to the food court for them. "I guess luck was on our side once in awhile. Plus, it was fortunate you were with us, because you know the security schedule, and when the best time to go in is." She stepped aside and let Jude and Yosuke walk through the door.

From the entrance to the food court, he spotted everyone else already sitting around the same table they always sat around. More luck, that the table was always free. He waved to Naoto, who was the first to notice them, and then approached the table to sit. Jude settled in next to him, and Yukiko walked to the other side of the table to settle in next to Chie.

"Been awhile since we've sat here like this," Kanji started, looking around the food court and smirking. "Place never changes."

Yosuke laughed a little bit. "Dude. We just had lunch here last week." He smirked at his friend.

Kanji made his flustered face, another thing that never changed with time. "Shut up! You know what I mean!" he shouted.

And the odd thing was that Yosuke did, in a way. Yeah, he'd seen all of the people at the table separately, but it had been far too long since they'd all been together like this. Even the New Years celebration had been short this year; Naoto hadn't been able to get out of work, and Kanji had decided to go along with her this year. _"I really don't want her to spend the New Year alone, man."_ Everyone had more than supported that decision, too, because they didn't want her to spend the holiday alone and buried in work, either.

"It's nice to have everyone together," Jude told the group with a smile. "I've missed this part."

Naoto have a halfhearted smile and nodded her agreement. "I only wish that the circumstances were more pleasant." He knew it was only a matter of time before someone brought it up, and he understood why Naoto had.

From the other side of the table, Elize looked up at Naoto and bit her lip. "How did they escape, Naoto-san?" she asked sadly.

She wasn't blaming Naoto, of course she wasn't. They all knew that Naoto had no control over that situation, after all. But Naoto likely had the most information of all of them. Possibly even more than Chie, because she had far more resources at her disposal than Chie did, and she wasn't as hampered by paperwork and red tape and rules as Chie was.

Naoto and Kanji exchanged glances, and then Naoto nodded her head yes. "Kanji has been helping me go over some of the security footage," she explained, turning her head to look at Kanji. "And while there's not anything particularly out of the ordinary, that in itself is an odd concept." She brushed some of her long, blue hair from her shoulders and looked over at Kanji.

"Yeah," he continued. "'Specially at this one point where everything just went completely... how'd you describe it, Naoto?"

For a moment, Naoto looked as though she was turning a word over in her mind. "Lifeless..." was what she eventually decided on. "It wasn't as though people died on camera or anything, but all of the people who'd been walking around seemed to freeze for about five seconds," she explained. "And when interviewed, no one remembered, or even recognized that anything had happened. The security guard said that it must have been a glitch in the recording equipment, but..."

A blanket of silence fell over the table, and Yosuke found himself looking over at Jude subconsciously. Jude looked like the gears in his mind were turning, and Yosuke wondered exactly what he was thinking. He seemed to be trying to piece together what they knew in his mind, and Yosuke found himself curious to his very core. At first, he wanted to interrupt and ask what Jude was thinking, but he decided better of it, and figured that he could let Jude process first. He may not have had Naoto's detective's intuition, but he was still pretty damned smart.

Jude turned to look at Yosuke, then over to Naoto. "Do you think this has to do with the 'something greater than all of us' that they mentioned?" he asked.

That was a detail that, it seemed, Yosuke hadn't linked to their current situation, but now that it was out there, he honestly didn't know how he hadn't thought of it. It must have gotten lost in the chaos of the news and having to pack up and go to the Amagi Inn like thei had. It also seemed that the rest of the group had similarly let it slip from their minds. Yosuke looked from Jude to Naoto, who was nodding her head.

"It seems like it's a distinct possibility, doesn't it?" she asked, looking around at everyone.

With a thoughtful hum, Ken scratched his head. "But didn't Adachi-san say that the 'something greater' was inside of the TV world?" Not doubting Jude's comment, just questioning.

Jude chewed on his thumbnail, a nervous habit that Yosuke noticed him doing increasingly frequently, and shrugged a shoulder. "Yes, he did. And there's no way to confirm that a power in the TV world could come out, I suppose." He scratched at his hair and let out a low, pensive, "hmm..."

"There's no way to confirm that it couldn't either, though," Naoto responded level-headedly. "We can't use our power outside of the TV, but that doesn't mean that no one else can, right?"

Rise gave a serious nod. "I mean, look at Teddie. Inside the TV, he was completely empty, and when he came out here with us, he grew a person." She paused, and made an odd face at how that sounded, but then shrugged it off. "There are still so many questions about that world that I don't get. Like... remember way back when, when Ameno-Sagiri said that his wishes were man's wishes or whatever?"

"Plus," Chie added, "we still don't know where the place came from."

All the unanswered questions reminded him of Igor's words. _The world in reverse signifies a lack of closure, or that something in your world is not complete._ Lack of closure was an understatement, honestly. The whole thing was still open as wide as an ocean, and he really wanted that closure. He glanced at Jude, who was already looking up at him with a questioning look. As usual, even without Yosuke saying anything, Jude could tell that he was thinking and trying to figure something out.

But really, all he was figuring out was how to tell his friends about Igor and Margaret and the Velvet room.

Like a band-aid. That was the best way for things like this, right? He breathed in, then looked up at the group. "I'm going to tell you all something. And you have to promise to let me finish, not call me crazy, and save all of your questions for the end." Because if he was going to tell them all about this, he needed to get it out.

Naoto raised an eyebrow and nodded in response, but didn't seem to disapprove. "Go ahead," she nodded.

And for the second time in as many days, Yosuke explained his two maybe-dreams. The impossibly blue plane, and how it reminded him of Souji's train station; Igor and his long nose, Margaret's chilly demeanor... and then the tarot cards. He explained what cards were drawn and what they meant, and how the pair told him that he had a destiny that he hadn't reached yet. He explained that they were vague, but just clear enough to make him question if they knew what was going on, but that they hadn't told him anything.

With wide eyes, Kanji looked at him wordlessly for a few seconds. "Does that mean you got the persona switching trick Souji had?" he asked, blinking curiously a few times.

Naoto looked slightly more skeptical, but not completely dismissive. "And you're not sure if it was a dream or not yet?"

Yosuke was about to open his mouth to defend himself and how he felt, when he heard Jude speak up beside him. "It seems a little coincidental for that, doesn't it, Naoto? All of this happened before Rise and I even told him about Souji and Adachi's escape," he explained. He wasn't angry, just trying to make Naoto realize what they already knew.

And that gave her pause. "Oh..." she said simply, and in a complete change of demeanor.

"I mean..." Yosuke started, "I still don't know anything. Or what it means. And you're right, I still don't know if they're dreams or not. But it felt different from a dream. And coming from a situation like ours, with our personas and our ability to enter the TV, it's not... it's not totally crazy that it could be real, right?"

Naoto nodded and sighed in resignation. "You're absolutely right," she intoned, giving Yosuke an apologetic expression.

Yosuke shook her apology off and gave her an understanding smile. It was a lot to take in. "For now, I can't really offer much more than that," he explained. "I just didn't want to keep it secret. Secrets haven't really gotten us anywhere so far, so..." In fact, they'd caused more harm than good.

Rise stood from her seat and nodded in the direction of the store. "Well, with that out there... there's only one thing we can do now, isn't there?" she asked, before pulling Teddie into a standing position.

It was as though they'd all just been waiting for the cue, because as soon as she spoke those words, the whole group of them stood up. Admittedly, as they walked toward the electronics section and talked amongst themselves, Yosuke found himself feeling a little bit excited. Like he was going to visit an old friend. It felt like centuries since they'd been into the TV world, and he wondered if it would feel the same once they got in. It seemed that they'd all come prepared. Even Kanji's chair had been leaning up against the side of the table, waiting to be carried toward the electronics section. Yosuke could feel his kunai underneath his coat, even though he hoped that they wouldn't need to use them. Not right now.

When the coast was clear, and Yosuke leaned forward to touch the TV, he smiled when the familiar ripples formed in the screen. He went first, and then one by one, everyone tumbled in after him.

The landing area was much the same. It was the same yellow air and the same studio decor... and it was coated in the same dense fog. Yosuke pulled himself up off the ground, wiping some dust off his pants, and reached down to help the person nearest him up as well. When Jude's familiar warmth encircled his hand, he couldn't help but smile a little. He helped his boyfriend off of the ground and then reached into his pocket to pull his TV glasses out. Sliding them onto his face, he scanned the area to make sure that all of his friends made it down safely.

"Everyone okay?" he asked the group, noting that everyone was helping each other up now.

Mumbles of confirmation came from all directions as everyone put their glasses on, and Yosuke found himself chuckling inwardly in reply. Keeping his hand in Jude's, he turned to look at Rise, who was already summoning her persona. She was obviously eager, and he saw the little smile cross her face as the familiar statue-like figure appeared behind her.

Admittedly, a part of Yosuke wanted to summon his persona, just so he could feel that familiar swell of power, but he knew that now wasn't the time. He watched as Rise scanned, then turned to Teddie to see him making a weird sniffing motion (even weirder, because he wasn't in his costume). It was just like old times, honestly, and it brought a wistful smile to his face. Wistfulness didn't really seem appropriate, though, because almost everything about the situation had been completely terrible, but it was there.

When he looked at Jude, he saw a similar smile on his face, and he didn't feel so bad.

"Thinking about old times?" Yosuke asked up-front, squeezing his hand tightly.

Jude's cheeks flushed a little, and he nodded. "It's weird to be smiling about it, isn't it?" he intimated.

Was it? Kind of, maybe. A lot had happened to them and those they cared about, and all of it was horrible. But, "I don't think so," Yosuke shook his head. "I mean... yeah, lots of stuff happened, but..." But what? He knew that there was a reason he felt grateful for this place, but was it appropriate to say?

"I always kind of thought that without this place, I never would have gotten as close to you as I did," Jude mused softly. "Getting my persona, joining you guys... no, the circumstances that brought it on weren't the best, but all of you are the best things to ever happen to me. Without you, without all of you, I'd still be that same shy, quiet kid in the corner, who really didn't have anything important to stand up for."

Wordlessly, Yosuke pulled Jude into his arms. The sentiment was appreciated, but the fact that he'd been so alone before was disturbing. Just... wrong. "I feel the same way." It wasn't as eloquent as Jude's explanation, no, but he still meant it from his core.

It wasn't until that moment that Yosuke realized that everyone--even Rise--was staring at them in varying degrees of amusement. Yosuke felt his cheeks heating up, but he let go of Jude and gave him a bashful little smile. Like the kid with his hand caught in the cookie jar. "Sorry guys," he spoke to everyone else, a little grin on his face.

"Don't be, that was adorable." Rise's whole face was smiling, as Kanzeon faded behind her.

Jude's whole face was red, like an adorable tomato, and his voice was shy as he spoke. "Did, um... did you find anything?" he asked Rise and Teddie.

The smile faded from Rise and Teddie's faces simultaneously, and Teddie shook his head no. "I couldn't smell a single thing," he told them. "Outside of the normal shadows, we're the only one ones in here. It's completely bear-ren."

Rise nodded in confirmation. "Yeah, I stretched Kanzeon as far as she would go, and couldn't find anything out of the ordinary. It's just like it was when we came in to train..." she explained.

"So, if they were here, they ain't now," Kanji stated the obvious, but maybe not _so_ obvious, because it needed to be said.

When Yosuke's eyes fell upon Naoto, she had that familiar Detective Shirogane look on her face when she looked at Kanji. "It seems unlikely that they weren't here, doesn't it?" she asked. And Yosuke nodded his agreement from a few feet away. "Where else could they have gone, and not left a trace like they did?"

Jude looked at Naoto and nodded his agreement, too. "Plus," he started, "with that 'bigger power,' it's not completely out of the realm of possibility that they'd be able to find a way out, is it? Or even block us from finding them?"

It was a good point, and it seemed like Naoto agreed with it. But, that brought the dismal air back to the group of them. That meant, "it's possible that they're back in our world now, then..." Naoto's voice was dark.

If Souji and Adachi were back in the real world... no one was safe.

Suddenly, the nostalgia about being back in the TV world was gone, and Yosuke found himself dreading what was to come. No one was safe. And it was a damn good thing that he and Jude weren't at their apartment anymore. His hand sought out Jude's, and when Jude grasped his, he squeezed it tightly.

"So, what do we do now?" Elize's tiny voice cut through the dark silence that had blanketed them.

Everyone looked to Yosuke, and it only occurred to him just then that he was still the technical "partial leader" of this band of warriors. He glanced over to Naoto, as though what he was saying was a suggestion to her, too. "We go back to doing what we did before," he said glumly. "Waiting. While the police investigate; while Naoto and Chie investigate. We can check the TV every now and then for some kind of sign of them, but I don't think... I don't think there's a whole lot else we can do at this point." Sad but true.

Naoto nodded and frowned. "Yosuke is right. For my part," she looked up at Kanji as she spoke, "I'll keep you all in the loop as much as I can, and even let you help us. I know that Chie doesn't have the same luxury, but I think if we spoke to Dojima-san, he'd let us bend the rules this one time." She wanted to sound certain of that, Yosuke could tell, but she really didn't.

On the other hand, Chie was nodding. "And even if he doesn't, I'm still going to do whatever I can. This is as much your case as it is ours, and it wouldn't be fair to exclude you now."

Yukiko's eyes went to the stack of TV's that they used as an exit back to the real world. "For now, I think we should all go back. If there's nothing in here for us, then there's nothing we can really do, right? So sitting here agonizing over it will get us nothing but more frustration," she suggested. Though the look on her face said that she was plenty frustrated already.

Just as Yosuke was about to agree, from the corner of his eye, and in a bright flash of blinding white light from in front of him, something appeared. His eyes darted to the southeast corner of the room, where he was completely shocked to see a blue door, embossed with a blue and white design... Yosuke didn't even need to ask. _The Velvet Room..._ he thought. He turned to look at his friends, all of whom were looking at him strangely, and blinked twice.

"You can't... you can't see it?" he asked them.

Jude looked up at him with furrowed eyebrows and concerned eyes. "See what?" he replied.

Yosuke could tell that no one was tyring to alarm him, but they were failing somewhat miserably. There was a blue door. He could see it as plain as the yellow around him... but they couldn't see it. Then again, could anyone see the door when Souji had used it so many years ago? Yosuke never remembered seeing it, just Souji telling them that it was there and them believing it without question.

"The door..." Yosuke whispered.

Naoto looked directly where Yosuke was looking and shook her head no. "There's... there's no d-" she paused abruptly and then blinked a couple of times. "Wait. Is this similar to when Souji said that he saw a door when we were in here? He was always doing into that persona pl-" Her eyes were wide now. "The persona place..."

Yosuke nodded.

"It's real..." Chie's voice was quiet. "You're..."

He nodded again.

Jude seemed to be the only one who had never questioned whether it was a dream or not. Even Rise and Teddie had surprised looks on their faces as they watched Yosuke walk toward the door that only he could see. He stared at it for a few seconds, then looked back at his friends. Remembering that Souji seemed to vanish for a time when he went in there, he breathed deeply and gave them an unsure smile.

"I'll be right back..." he told them as he opened the door and stepped through.

*

He hadn't even moved after he stepped through the door, but it was closed behind him and he was sitting in the same chair, facing Margaret and Igor again. This time, Yosuke was a hundred percent sure that he was awake, that he wasn't dreaming. Just to be sure, he pinched himself a couple of times, and then winced at the pain in his arm. _Ow..._ he thought, but he was satisfied to know that he wasn't sleeping at the same time. He turned to look at Igor, with his bloodshot eyes and long nose.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room."

Yosuke looked at him and swallowed thickly. It was different when there was a chance that it might not be real. Now though, now it was real, and now he wanted straight answers. He tried to put on a brave face as he looked at Igor, before pulling in a deep breath and asking his question.

"Are you finally going to tell me why you keep appearing in my dreams?" It wasn't phrased viciously; he was a little bit too confused to be vicious, and besides, he didn't imagine that it would go over too well. He just wanted to know, and if they were going to keep invading his life like this... he deserved to.

Margaret nodded her head and finally spoke up for the first time. "You and your friends are finally nearing the end of your journey," she explained to him.

After nodding at Margaret, Igor turned to look at him. "That is correct. However, you're nowhere near strong enough to face what is coming your way." He directed Margaret to gather something, and nodded his head.

Yosuke watched her intently for a moment, as she reached behind the seat she was in and pulled out a large, leatherbound book. "This is the Persona Compendium," she explained. "It holds and stores all the personas that you encounter in battle. At least, that is normally the case. For you, the compendium is slightly different."

She passed the compendium to Igor, who opened it, and started rifling through the pages. "Indeed, very different," he agreed in that same lilting voice, with that same intrigued smile.

"How?" Yosuke asked, his voice a little bit shaky.

Igor looked up at Yosuke, flipping another page and then turning the book around so that Yosuke could see. "Normally, these pages would be blank, as you haven't encountered any personas on the battlefield yet, and thus haven't collected them." But the pages weren't blank. In fact, every page that he turned had a different persona on it. "But it seems, the bond that you once shared with our previous guest allows you access to his many of the personas in his compendium." The man's hand paused when he came to a blank page. "With the exception, of course, of the personas gained through bonds."

Arching an eyebrow, Yosuke croaked out a question. "Bonds?" he asked.

Igor nodded again. "You have strong bonds with the people around you, there is no denying that," he explained, "but you'll need to bring them to their strongest potential in order to have access to the strongest personas we have available." He closed the book and set it between he and Margaret.

"How do I do that?"

Margaret answered this time. "By spending time with those you hold dear to you. You will know exactly what we mean when it happens." An answer that wasn't an answer at the same time. He should have been used to this by now.

He breathed a sigh as he glanced at the compendium between the two blue-clad people--were they people?--and then back to Igor. "And then we'll be strong enough to finish everything?" They seemed to have the answers to everything else. Did it seem so outlandish to think that they'd have the answers to that?

"That," Igor told him, "is for you to decide."


	5. Lovers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A date and a brand new experience.

**March 17th, 2016**

It had been a very long day, and the day wasn't even half over yet.

After explaining what had happened to everyone and dealing with their bombardment of questions (as well as showing them that he could, in fact, change personas, by changing to one that he'd selected from Igor's compendium and casting a healing spell on them) Jude and Yosuke started the trip back to the Amagi Inn by themselves, since Yukiko and Chie had a dinner date that night. _"We've been dating for four years tomorrow, and Chie can't get the day off, so we're celebrating tonight,"_ Yukiko had said. It made Yosuke think a little bit.

As they passed the Samegawa again, he turned to Jude and gave a little smile. "We should do something tonight."

It obviously took Jude by surprise, as he turned and looked at Yosuke with his doe-eyes wide. It was understandable. They hadn't really had the chance to go out in a long time. Jude's increased hours at the hospital recently, alongside the fact that Yosuke was playing at the cafe, had made planning dates a little bit difficult. They always managed, but it was a little bit harder recently. But now, with Jude having a day off and Yosuke being forced to take a little time away from the cafe while they stayed in Inaba, it seemed like a good time to take some time to themselves.

"Like what?" Jude asked, the surprise fading into intrigue. Interest. He obviously agreed that they deserved a date night.

That was a good question, too. Inaba was a little bit tougher to plan dates in than Okina was. "Hm." Yosuke paused and pondered for a second. "It's not like 30 Frame is right across the street like it is at home, so we might actually have to get creative this time." A little mischievous twinkle crossed his face, and he glanced at Jude.

Pausing, Jude bit his lip. "And careful..." he said seriously, and he didn't need to elaborate for Yosuke to realize that he meant. Souji and Adachi may have been out there.

"And careful," Yosuke repeated. "Really careful."

It was true that they were in danger, sure, but Yosuke wasn't going to let fear keep him from trying to enjoy his life. Inaba had been dangerous a few years ago, and he'd still made time for fun back then. And damned if Jude didn't deserve a break every now and then.

Yosuke could see the moment when Jude tried to pull himself out of his concern. The worry was still there, but Jude allowed himself to smile a little bit as he thought. "So... creative." He repeated the word, thought about it for a few seconds, then raised his head sharply, smiling wide at Yosuke. "I have an idea, but I can't tell you what it is yet." _Now_ Jude's eyes matched his mischievousness, and then Yosuke watched the satisfied smile slide across Jude's face.

Suddenly, nothing mattered more in the world than letting Jude do what he wanted.

But that didn't mean he couldn't have fun along the way. The entire walk back to the inn, Yosuke had asked no less than fifteen times for some kind of hint as to what Jude had in store. Still, when they got back to the inn, Jude had kissed Yosuke on the cheek when no one was looking and headed in the direction of the kitchen, with an impish smile and a promise to meet in the lobby in three hours. As he walked away, he wrote a mysterious text to an unknown recipient, and Yosuke couldn't help but wonder what was up his sleeve.

Still, only once Jude was out of sight did he move. A little smile on his face, he turned and headed toward his room. _Spending time with the ones you hold dear,_ Igor's voice rang in his mind. Was this what he'd meant? Spending time could be any number of things, and if it happened to hold this meaning? Well, Yosuke wouldn't complain about spending the extra time with Jude. As he rifled through his bag--Jude had packed for both of them, because Yosuke had honestly always been terrible at packing; all he felt like he needed were his mp3 player, a guitar, some magazines, toiletries and a couple changes of clothes--he smiled at some of the things Jude had packed. His favorite t-shirts, a few button downs and a couple sweaters, shorts, jeans... basically every article of clothing that he could possibly need.

He had no idea what Jude had planned, so he pulled out a button down shirt and some brown cargo pants, and then headed to take a shower.

At some point or another during his shower, which may or may not have been a little longer than was necessary, Yosuke heard the door in the main room. A little panic rose at the thought that it might be Souji or Adachi, but then he heard Jude's voice fill the hotel room and tell him that he was almost ready. _"Meet me in the lobby,"_ he repeated, excitement dripping from his voice, as though Yosuke may have forgotten.

Yosuke was endlessly curious now, but he didn't ask. Jude was obviously very excited about this, and eventually, if Yosuke asked, he'd cave. He always did. Still, he couldn't wait too much longer to find out, so he made quick work of redressing himself and making himself look 'date-ready.' Brushing a few wrinkles out of his shirt, he shrugged and deemed himself satisfactory. _As good as you're gonna get, anyway,_ he thought, sliding an elastic over his wrist and heading for the door. Jude always seemed to think that he looked good, anyway.

As Yosuke walked down the stairs (and immediately realized that he could have taken the elevator instead), he found himself a little bit nervous. It wasn't like he and Jude had never been on a date before. They'd been together for a year and interested in each other for three, so they'd been on too many dates to count, even before realizing that they were actually dates. This one, though... it felt different somehow.

Maybe it was because they officially had the label of _boyfriend_ now.

Just the thought made Yosuke's lips quirk up into an involuntary grin. Boyfriend. Jude Mathis was his boyfriend and had been _officially_ for only a couple of days, and this was their first date since that revelation. It would be special. It had to be special.

When Yosuke got to the lobby, he spotted Jude from a distance with a picnic basket on the counter next to him. Once again, he was looking at his phone and sending a text, and Yosuke had to wonder what in the world was going on. Taking a couple of seconds to look Jude over, he couldn't help but smile a little. He didn't dress in anything too special; one of his classic sweater-vests and t-shirts. But there was something about him tonight. Maybe it was the eager little smile on his face, or maybe it was just Yosuke's own excitement... but whatever it was, he found himself hurrying down the rest of the stairs.

Admittedly, it was hard to tamp down the instinct to peek in the picnic basket, and equally hard to resist just grabbing Jude in his arms and kissing him hello. Somehow he managed to do both. Although lack of grabby hands was just about the limit of his self-control at the moment.

"So, what's this grand plan you have?" he asked, smiling warmly at Jude in greeting.

Jude responded with a smile of his own, and a chuckle. "You'd think I'd be used to you being impatient by now." He nodded toward the door of the inn and grabbed the picnic basket off the table.

Yosuke shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly and gave Jude an innocent smile. "Listen, okay? I'm like a little kid and whatever's in that picnic basket and that moppy head of yours is my candy store." He pretended to be serious, but he was reasonably sure that Jude could see right through him.

As if to prove it, once they got out of the door to the inn, Jude gave him a wry little smirk. "That was either a horrible pick up line or you thought I'd be sorry enough for you that I'd tell you everything I have planned, I can't decide which." His tone was hushed, a slight whisper so that only Yosuke could hear him.

"Can't it be both?" was Yosuke's only response at first. After a couple of seconds, he looked back over at Jude with a hopeful eyebrow raise. "Did it work?"

Jude huffed a sigh and put the picnic basket in the back of his car. "This time I'm actually sticking to it," he told Yosuke sincerely. "I promise. It'll be worth it." 

His genuine eagerness made Yosuke glad that he'd asked Jude on this little date. The car ride was filled with conversation, but none about the TV world or the Midnight Channel for a change, which was nice. Jude brought up Leia's wedding, and how even though it was surprisingly good to be back in his hometown, nothing beat Okina. Nothing beat Inaba. Nothing beat his life now. _With you..._ Jude had said with a slightly bashful smile as he turned the corner to the flood plain.

Yosuke responded with a smile, and nodded his agreement. "We do have a pretty amazing life." He paused, then looked at Jude with a huge smile. "We should go back to Nōsu sometime. This time without a reason. I want you to show me around. Where you grew up, what places were important to you..." he suggested.

He could see that the suggestion took Jude off-guard, but he nodded his head. "If you want to, yeah," he answered as he slowed the car to a stop, parked on the side of the road. "Maybe we could do it to celebrate all the madness ending, when we finally finish everything." The certainty with which he said that was a nice change.

After a couple of seconds of silent reflection, Jude turned to look at Yosuke with a sort of embarrassed smile on his face. "We're here. Well, I mean... we're almost here," he amended.

"The flood plain?"

Jude nodded. "Yeah." He picked up the picnic basket. "I figured we could bring this up to the gazebo and eat. It's ginger pork. Your favorite, right? With fried rice and steamed veggies." The question was unnecessary. Jude knew. "And then maybe we could go for a walk along the river afterward, or something..."

Now Jude was doing that rambling thing that he did when he was nervous; when he wasn't as sure of himself as he should be. And at first, Yosuke didn't stop him. He just watched him overexplain for a second, a little smile crossing his face as Jude went into every detail of the process he'd gone through. He'd asked Yukiko if he could use the kitchens to make dinner, and Yukiko had agreed gladly. Evidently, the cooking staff at the inn had thought that ginger pork was such an excellent idea that it was on the dinner menu that night, too, which had been a surprise to Jude.

"... and Yukiko told me that she thought the whole thing was a really romantic idea, and that she wished she'd thought of it first," he continued, "and I really wish you'd say something right now, so that I knew that you thought it was a good idea, so I could stop talking. Because I'm pretty sure I'm just embarrassing mys-"

Yosuke leaned over the center console, turning Jude's face toward him and pressing their lips together in a gentle, but satisfying kiss. When the kiss broke, he brushed some of Jude's hair from his face and met his eyes.

While still tortuously close to Jude's face, Yosuke spoke up. "It was an amazing idea," he told Jude, punctuating his approval with another kiss.

To be honest, Jude looked almost like he wanted to forgo the whole date for _other_ activities, now that they'd kissed like that, and Yosuke couldn't say that the idea wasn't appealing. But they had time for that later. Jude had put dinner together, and he didn't want to waste it.

"Let's, um..." Jude stumbled, a tiny grin crossing his face, "let's go have dinner, yeah?"

Yosuke nodded, and hesitantly pulled himself away from Jude, as difficult as it was. As much as he wanted to stay like that, Jude had obviously gone through some effort. He stepped out of the car and grabbed the picnic basket from the back, meeting Jude on his side. As he walked, little wafts of the scent of Jude's ginger pork wafted through the cracks in the wicker basket, and Yosuke smiled. "This smells really good."

Jude's smile was a little lopsided, and Yosuke got the feeling that he wished that he hadn't stopped Yosuke from kissing him again _almost_ as much as Yosuke wished that he hadn't stopped himself. But as it stood, they started up the path to the familiar gazebo and settled in on the same side.

When Yosuke set the picnic basket down, Jude started taking everything out. Plates, chopsticks, plum wine and glasses, and then the food. And lastly... Yosuke felt a warm smile creeping across his face when Jude pulled out a candle and a candle-holder.

"A candlelit dinner for two..." he mumbled, turning to watch Jude light the candle.

Jude chuckled, sounding slightly embarrassed. "Yukiko's suggestion. But I liked it, so I took it," he said bashfully.

It was like something out of a romance novel, and maybe a little bit sappy, but Yosuke had absolutely no problem with sappy stuff, especially when the sappy stuff in question made Jude so happy. The candlelight danced on his face, lighting his features just enough so that he looked like some kind of angel, and Yosuke couldn't help but feel like that was an accurate description. He glanced at the food in front of him for a second, and then back to Jude. It only occurred to him just then that... this was the first time anyone had gone to such lengths to put something like this together for him. At least for something as simple as a date.

"You really went all out." It was a simple statement, but Yosuke hoped that Jude could sense the gratitude in there.

He didn't say anything at first, but Yosuke could tell by the look on his face that he did sense it. "I figured... why not add another memory to this place." Jude motioned broadly to the area around them.

Yosuke chuckled softly. "We _do_ have a lot attached to the flood plain." He looked around.

"We first kissed here... god, almost four years ago." Jude's tone was surprised. "And I'm pretty sure that this was the place that I first realized that I was in love with you." He wet his lips, before picking up his chopsticks and putting a piece of pork in his mouth.

But Yosuke was curious. As he reached down to pick up his own chopsticks, his eyes looking away from Jude, he couldn't help but ask, "really? When?"

Jude chuckled awkwardly. "The second time we kissed," he admitted. "Right after we caught Souji. I remember the first time you kissed me, I definitely started to feel like I was in love with you, but I wasn't sure." He mixed his rice with his vegetables as he spoke. "But when we walked away from the summer festival and came up here, and you told me we couldn't be together, and then we kissed again? I knew."

Arching an eyebrow, Yosuke looked at him. "That early?" he asked.

Jude just nodded.

"How did you know that early?" It was a difficult question, Yosuke was sure. And if Jude chose not to answer, or couldn't answer, he understood completely.

But, as usual, Jude spoke right up. "Because of how much I wanted to fight you when you told me not to be a boyfriend in waiting," he admitted. "I wanted to wait. I wanted to hold myself in stasis for you, because... because I had already fallen for you." The candle showed the pink in his cheeks, bright as it ever was. "You know, in a way, I think I kind of did..." he intoned.

And Yosuke was curious as to what he meant. For two years after that, their 'single times' never matched up, and Yosuke had hated that more than anything in the world. Watching Jude date all these people he knew weren't good enough, when he wanted to be brave enough to take those affections for himself. So, it didn't make sense. If he hadn't been trying not to hold himself in stasis, what had he been doing?

"I never really felt anything beyond attraction, or vague interest in those guys I dated," Jude continued. "Not a single one of them could make my heart skip a beat with a single smile, or make me feel like the most important person in the world, just by talking to me. Not like you do. Not like you always have. So... I think I was subconsciously purposely dating people I didn't mesh with. Hoping for the day we'd finally get our chance."

The words left Yosuke completely dumbstruck, and he just stared at Jude for a couple of seconds, before the smile started growing across his face. It was a little bit disappointing, sure, knowing that they could have been together all along if Yosuke had just known, but at the same time... at the same time, it was sort of satisfying, in a way, knowing that Jude had loved him as much as he had, for so long. He focused on his place and picked up a piece of pork, before speaking.

"I think it took me a little bit longer to realize how I really felt," he admitted with a shy chuckle, putting the piece of pork into his mouth. "Not too much longer, though. Do you remember that next Christmas Eve? You came over to my place right after you had dinner with your parents?"

Jude laughed a little bit. "I remember. Teddie went to Rise's and your folks were working late, and I didn't want you to be alone, so I came over with that salmon pasta I made for my parents, and we made a cake in your kitchen..." he recalled. 

" _You_ made a cake in my kitchen. I watched..." Yosuke corrected with a chuckle.

"Right," Jude laughed a little bit. "And then I gave you those new headphones. The ones you'd been pining after."

Yosuke nodded his head. "And you stayed the night and we had that movie marathon. One of your favorites, then one of my favorites..." he trailed off, the memory making him smile even wider. "I don't think you realize how hard it was for me not to grab you and kiss you that night." He chuckled a little bit.

"I realize," Jude shook his head no. "Because I was struggling pretty hard, too."

And that made Yosuke laugh again. "You were just... that was one of the best Christmas Eves I'd ever had." Of course, every year had gotten better since then, because Jude was with him, but that part went unsaid.

Jude turned to look at Yosuke, and wet his lips. "You know, even though we probably could have saved each other a lot of wishing, I don't think I'd change how we became us for anything..." he grinned. "All that time I spend wishing that I had you makes me appreciate you even more now that I do."

The funny thing was, Jude was absolutely right. Just like he'd been right back in 2012, when he'd said that time as friends would be good for them. "And you were right, too," he told Jude.

"When?" Jude asked, an eyebrow arched.

Yosuke set his chopsticks on his place and turned to look at Jude. "When you said that spending time together, without being together, would let our feelings grow," he explained, turning Jude's face to look at him, then leaning in close. "Because no one means more to me than you do," he told Jude, his tone serious.

This time, it was Jude who took the initiative and leaned forward to press their lips together. It was dark, and there was no one there to see, anyway. The flood plain was always pretty damn dead after dark _Besides,_ Yosuke thought, as he smoothed a hand through Jude's hair and pulled him closer, _who cares right now? I definitely don't..._ Maybe he wasn't thinking with his top brain right now, but it didn't really seem like Jude was, either, if the way he moved his affections to Yosuke's neck was any indication.

This wasn't their _first_ foray into public displays of affection, either. Yosuke had 'helped' Jude in the back row at 30 Frame once, and they'd definitely had a little private time on the roof of their apartment building, too. But the flood plain was a new one.

"Are... we actually going to do this here?" Jude whispered.

Yosuke responded with a lopsided smirk, a breathy voice, and a shrugged shoulder. "I mean... if you want to take the time to pack up the picnic basket and go back to the car, you're more than welcome t-"

Before he could even finish that sentence... before he could even finish that _word_ , Jude crushed their lips together again, and he realized that he had his answer. _Are we actually going to do this here?_ he repeated in his head. _Yes. Yes, I think we are..._ He couldn't help the triumphant little grin that crossed his face as Jude's affections moved back to his neck again.

Tonight was _definitely_ shaping up to be more fun than he initially expected it to be... which was saying something, because he definitely expected it to be fun even without this.

*

"At the _flood plain_?" Rise's eyes were wide as saucers as she looked at Yosuke with incredulity from across the table at Junes.

Honestly, sometimes Rise had better detective instincts than Naoto did, because all that Yosuke had said was that he and Jude had 'gone on a date,' and it had been 'really fun.' She'd pieced two and two together pretty quickly, though, and her expression had changed to utter shock immediately. There was a little bit of a twinkle there, like she didn't really disapprove as much as she was claiming to, but she kept the 'disapproving' tone in her voice.

Yosuke's cheeks were bright red, but he nodded.

"You and Jude." Rise repeated. "Had sex. At the flood plain."

This time, it was Yosuke's eyes that widened. "Rise, could you maybe _not_ announce that to everyone at the Junes food court?" he hissed in response, and he was immediately grateful that no one was close enough to hear her.

"You were all too content to announce it to everyone at the flood plain," she mused, and this time her grin was not even remotely concealed. She was definitely teasing him.

Shaking his head no, Yosuke shushed her. "There was no one _at_ the flood plain last night, Rise. Just us." God, at least he hoped so.

The grin was taking over, and Rise's voice was amused, too. "Was it fun? Like... was it more fun than usual?" she asked, equal parts amused and curious. She ran a hand through her hair and put her chin on her hand, and her elbow on the table.

More exciting than usual? "Well... it's not... it wasn't really our first time doing something like that, but it-"

Rise's eyes were wide again. "Wait, it's _not_?" she asked, her voice loud. This time, she'd definitely garnered some attention from some of the people sitting a few tables away. "Oh my god, Yosuke," she laughed, "you guys are like... you're total sex fiends!" she had a hand over her mouth, which had thankfully muffled the second part of that statement to those who were staring at them now.

" _Rise!_ " Yosuke covered his face with his hands. "Come on... this isn't... I have to go back to work in there in like... an hour." And potentially face the people she was borderline blabbing his secrets to.

She giggled and then bit her lip again. "Right, right. Sorry... I'm just... Jude's totally the last person I'd expect to be into like... thrill seeking. In that way, I mean." She didn't look like she disapproved. "A little excitement like that is good for him, I think. Even if it's totally weird and exhibitionisty," she teased Yosuke.

Yosuke rubbed his eyes and sighed. "It's not... exhibitionisty," he wet his lips. "Can we change the subject, please?" Not because he was embarrassed about having done what they did, but because she was being way too loud about it, and he really didn't want her to accidentally shout it out to the whole food court.

"Alright, but we're totally coming back to this later, because I'm totally and completely shocked, and completely and totally curious." She smirked at him.

He chuckled awkwardly, and bit his lip. "But, like... not at the food court, alright?" Seriously. He didn't think he had to specify things like that.

She picked at the tofu and rice platter in front of her and gave a little smile. "Alright," she agreed, then paused when her cell phone went off on the table. She blinked a couple of times and picked it up, flipping it open to read the message. And suddenly, the smile dropped off her face like snow off a rooftop.

With an arched eyebrow, Yosuke watched her somberly type a reply. "Everything alright?" he asked her seriously.

"I, um..." Rise paused. She looked around and then sighed. "Not here."

At first, there was a comment about his sex life being okay to discuss in public, but not whatever this was. But as soon as he saw the look on Rise's face, that comment died and a whole pile of concern took its place. The last time he'd seen her so dismal-looking was a few days ago, when she was talking about Souji and Adachi's escape. Whatever this was, it was way more serious than any accidental sex life conversational slip. So, he nodded over his shoulder for her to follow him, and the pair picked up their trays.

He guided Rise into the room where he usually planned out the schedules. There was a table large enough for the pair of them to sit at and eat. Or just talk. Whichever ended up happening, Rise very obviously wanted a little bit of privacy at the moment either way.

Directing Rise to set her tray down, Yosuke did the same, and took a seat on one side of the table. "Are you okay?" he asked.

The couple of seconds of silence that Rise responded with were a little bit unexpected, but he crossed his legs at the knee while he waited. Rise wasn't the type to get bothered like she was by trivial things. He pushed some of the potatoes on his lunch tray around.

Just when he was about to press her a little bit more, she spoke up. "We're getting cancelled," she answered in short-form.

Yosuke had to stop and think of a second, but when it dawned on him, his eyes widened and his mouth fell open. "Wait, what? I thought the ratings were great!" At least, the last time he checked... which had probably been about a half a year ago. TV could change quickly like that.

She shook her head no. "We _were_ doing great a year ago, but since then, we've just kinda... lost steam. They said that they were thinking of killing Teddie's character to save the show, and I said that if they did, I'd quit. Inoue-san said that he'd try to work something out with them, try to make sure my demands were met, but he said the producers wouldn't budge." Surprisingly, somehow, she didn't look as sad about _that_ part as Yosuke would have expected her to. "So, we're cancelled..." she repeated.

"I'm sorry, Rise... does Ted know about all of this?"

Rise shook her head vehemently. "No, no way!" she chewed on her lip. "I don't... I'm not sure how to tell him. He loves working on the show. I don't think there's anything that makes him happier." She looked up at him with concern.

Was she kidding? "Except you," Yosuke reminded her.

"Huh?"

Yosuke gave her a look. "Rise. You have to be kidding me." He paused for a second and then sighed. "You make him happier than any part on any show. Ted's been absolutely mental for you since you guys got together. Yeah, before then he was weird, girl-crazy Ted who probably would've gone out with any girl who gave him the time of day, but now? Now he's pretty much just Rise-crazy. I don't think he'll care too much about the show being cancelled, as long as it means that you two aren't cancelled," he insisted.

"No way would we be cancelled!" Rise's expression seemed almost disgusted at the thought.

With a little grin, Yosuke shrugged his shoulders. "Then what do you have to worry about?" he asked her.

She sighed a little bit. "I came to a really important realization at Leia's wedding," she told Yosuke, glancing back down at her tray and moving some of the rice around.

Somehow, Yosuke got the feeling he knew what she was going to say. Deep down, Rise's heart had never left music. He could tell when he was up on stage with her. She looked at home on the stage; happy. He remembered that a long time ago, back before she'd graduated, she'd been thinking about getting back into the music scene. Instead, somehow, she'd ended up working with Ted on TV, but she'd seemed to enjoy that enough. Still, it never quite equaled the happiness he saw on her face when she was on stage.

"You want to go back to music, don't you?" he asked her, to save her the trouble.

She stared at him in surprise, but bit her lip and nodded her head in reply. "I think so..." she said, before pausing and shaking her head. "No. I know so. I've been, like... I've been wrestling with it for years now, but at Leia's wedding, when we were singing for all those people... I knew that it was what I wanted to do." She blinked a couple of times. "How did you know?" she asked.

"Spend so much time around someone and you just kinda learn when they're having a good time," he told her. "You were really happy at Leia's wedding."

Pushing some of her hair behind her ear, she sighed. "I have a feeling that it'll be hard, though. Like, a lot of my fans are older now, and not really into the idol scene anymore. And actually, I think I'm probably too old to be an idol now. Kanamin slipped right into the spot I was in and totally took over." There was some bitter resentment in her voice now.

Shrugging, Yosuke gave her a smile. "Even if it'd be hard, you can still do it. I mean, it wasn't all sunshine and lollipops before, right? You had to work for it. So, you'd just have to work for it again. And you know Ted would support you every step of the way," he added. "And Jude. And me. And everyone else." They always had, and they always would.

"You think I should?" she asked. "Because my grandma doesn't. She said that she saw how miserable I got before, how the limelight wore on me, and she's afraid that I'll go down the same path again."

Yosuke remembered that, too. When they'd met Rise for the very first time, she'd looked like she was completely miserable. Depressed, sad... like she didn't have a friend in the world. But that, he figured, was how she was different now. She wasn't alone. She had everyone behind her, and, "we won't let you get to that point again. I _know_ Ted won't. He'll probably follow you around like a little lovesick puppy and you'll never feel alone like you did back then." He paused, then added, "and the rest of us will be there for you, too. You think Jude would ever let you go down that path again?"

A little smile crossed Rise's face, and she shook her head. "He wouldn't..." she agreed. "He'd probably drive both of you guys out to wherever I was and hug some sense into me." _That_ was the Rise smile he knew.

"So. What do you want to do, then?" he asked, encouraging her to say it aloud.

She breathed in deeply, then let it out slowly. "I want to..." she paused, then shook her head, and Yosuke thought that maybe he'd have to work to convince her again, but she smiled. "I'm _going_ to. I'm going to get back into music." And the hesitation in her voice was completely gone.

Seconds later, before Yosuke even got a chance to think of anything to say in reply, she sat up straight and her eyes widened. "Wait..." she looked at him and blinked a couple of times. "Wait, I feel different." She scratched a hand though her hair and looked like she was deep in thought for a minute. "No. No, it's not... it's not _me_ that's different... it's my persona..." she told him. Once again, she was quiet. "It feels different. Stronger. Like yours did back after you had to face your shadow again..." She looked like she was at a loss for words.

But then again, so was Yosuke. While she was saying all of this, a tarot card flashed in his mind's eye, and he could hear Margaret's voice speaking to him in his head.

_Thou art I, and I am thou._  
_Thou hast reinforced a long-standing bond._  
_These bonds shall be your eyes to see the truth.  
_ _We bestow upon thee the ability to create Ishtar, the ultimate form of the Lovers Arcana._

Was... was this what Igor had meant by strengthening his bonds and gaining access to stronger personas? Helping his friends to face their fears and getting those last few personas in the compendium from it? Because he wasn't sure he was equipped to help people face their issues. Jude probably would have been the better man for the job. He blinked a few more times, still trying to convince himself that what had just happened had actually happened, when Rise's voice registered in his ears.

"Yosuke? Are you alright? 'Cause you've been spaced out for, like the past two minutes..." she told him. "Just staring into space."

He ran his hand down his face and blinked a couple of times. Was he alright? He honestly wasn't sure. But he also wasn't sure exactly what he was supposed to say to Rise about it. "Oh. Oh, yeah. Yeah, I'm fine," he gave her an uncertain smile as he took a drink of his soda.

Whatever was going on... he'd have to figure it out later.


	6. Emperor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An unexpected declaration and a new bit of information.

**March 20th, 2016**

Seeing Kanji in a suit was incredibly surreal, but apparently doing the undercover work he was doing for Naoto required him to wear a suit and tie and pose as a coffee runner at a local business. According to Kanji, the pair were working on an embezzelment case; one of the hi-rise businesses in Okina were under investigation for some reasonably shady practices. Naoto had wanted to do the work herself, but from what Kanji was saying, she'd actually been in to interview some of the higher ups in the company a few years back when the accusations initially came to light. They'd almost definitely recognize her, she'd said. Kanji had been more than willing to step into her place. _Anything to help her, really,_ he'd said to Yosuke, and then stopped before he said too much more.

Now, though... now he looked like the least comfortable person in the world.

He and Yosuke had crossed paths on their way out of Junes, Yosuke leaving work and Kanji leaving 'picking something up to make for dinner at his mom's place,' so they'd agreed to walk back to the bus stop together. Yosuke watched as Kanji stuck his finger in the loop of his tie, loosening it and pulling in a heavy sigh.

"Hate these friggin' things so much," Kanji said with a derisive laugh, the tie hanging loosely around his neck as he turned to look over at Yosuke. "So, you guys're still staying over at Yukiko's place, huh?"

Yosuke nodded as he took the elastic out of his hair. He was forced to wear it up at work, but when the day was over, he could never wait to let it down again. There was a small crimp where the elastic had rested, but he'd deal with getting rid of that later. "Yeah. I'd say it was a nice vacation, but really, it's not too different from being at home," he mused.

"What do you mean?" Kanji asked, adjusting the briefcase and grocery bags in his hands and letting them drop to his sides.

With a chuckle, Yosuke shrugged again. "It's just... pretty similar, honestly. Jude's been down in the kitchen, helping the staff cook every night, so I still get a Jude-cooked meal all the time, I still go to work..." he trailed off, and then hummed thoughtfully. "The only real difference is that I'm not going to school, but I'm getting my stuff sent to me, so I'm still doing assignments and stuff..." It really wasn't that different at all.

Kanji hummed thoughtfully. "Huh," he said.

Yosuke bit his lip. "Might be different for Jude, though. In a good way," he shrugged. "Seems like cooking with Yukiko's staff has been a pretty good distraction for him." When he got out of work, he went straight to the Amagi kitchens, helped with dinner and then came up to the room with a smile on his face, rather than the exhausted frown he always had when he came straight home from the hospital.

Smirking, Kanji nodded his head. "Always seemed at home in the kitchen," he explained, like Yosuke didn't know. "Even when we were back in school, he'd tell Rise and me that he had this deep seeded, secret wish to cook for a living." Kanji smiled over at Yosuke now.

But Yosuke wasn't smiling.

Why didn't he know about that? He'd always thought that Jude's deep seeded wish had been to be a vet. So, why did Kanji and Rise know about this whole 'chef dream' thing, while Yosuke didn't? He looked at Kanji with a raised eyebrow. "Why didn't I know this?" he asked.

And then, Kanji looked guilty. "Wait, you didn't?"

Shaking his head, Yosuke turned his head away from Kanji, looking down at the ground with a sigh. "Last I knew, which was actually way back when we were still hunting for Souji, I think..." he paused, "his dream was to be a vet or something." That was what he'd said, anyway. Had it changed without Jude saying something? Or was Kanji just mixing signals or remembering something wrong?

And really, why was it a big deal? Why was Yosuke bothered by not knowing? Jude was allowed to have _some_ secrets, right?

Kanji shook his head no. "I mean... I know that he wouldn't _mind_ being a vet. It was one of his old man's 'if you can't work in _human_ medicine, it's an acceptable substitute' things." His face quirked in irritation at the mention of Jude's dad. "But I don't think Jude's old man really cares about what Jude wants. Or else why'd he have forced him into a job at the hospital?"

Yosuke frowned. "He doesn't like to talk about his dad." And Yosuke had never really forced it. All these years, he figured that Jude would open up when he was ready, but... maybe he wouldn't. Maybe he was so determined to believe that what his dad wanted for him was what was best for him, that he would never open up and always go on believing it.

"Can you blame the guy?" Kanji asked, stretching his shoulders and then shrugging. "It's like... he's lived his whole life trying to please his old man, and no matter what, it's never good enough. That'd weigh on anyone."

It would. Yosuke had always been lucky in the parent department. His mom and dad were supportive. In fact, he was pretty sure they'd even be okay with finding out that he was with Jude, even after all these years. His dad might be a little bit weird about it at first, but he'd eventually understand. Jude's dad, though... Yosuke didn't know how that conversation would go, but he knew that it wouldn't be pretty. Derrick Mathis was an imposing man, even just to look at. But talking to him... it was even worse. If someone spoke one sentence with imperfect grammar, made one comment that wasn't completely factual, he made that someone feel like a fool. Even... no, _especially_... if that someone was Jude.

The one time in high school that Yosuke had stayed at Jude's house, instead of vice versa, they'd been force-fed a lesson on manners at the dinner table when they'd laughed a little too loudly at some joke or another. Jude had spent the whole rest of the evening feeling guilty and embarrassed, and Yosuke had tried to reassure him that it was okay... but Jude had never quite bought it. How Jude's mother put up with it was beyond Yosuke. And how Jude was as kind as he was also seemed a mystery.

"I hate that man," Yosuke confessed. And he hated that he had to hate Jude's dad, but he did. He wanted to admire the man who took part in the creation of the most beautiful person he knew, but he couldn't, and it killed him.

Kanji snorted a laugh. "Me too, man. Dunno how Jude's as level as he is most of the time."

So, maybe Yosuke would have to push him a little bit to get him to talk. Maybe he would have to force the issue a little bit to get him to open up about things that Kanji and Rise apparently already knew about. But if that was what he had to do, it was what he would do. He loved Jude to the very core of his being, and desperately wanted him to have the happiness he deserved. If it took pushing him to make it happen... that was what it took. And that was what he'd do.

He just hoped that he didn't push too hard, and end up pushing Jude away.

Carding a hand through his hair, Yosuke cleared his throat and looked at Kanji, silently pushing for a shift in topic. "So, what have you been up to, man? Other than apparently being a secret agent man with Naoto," he half-joked.

Kanji snorted a laugh and shook his head. "Not quite a secret agent man, dude. Just like... an undercover agent." He paused. "No, not even an agent. Not even a cop. Just... undercover." He laughed again and bit his lip. "Though, now that you mention it, when I was younger, I never thought I'd see the day that I worked with cops on the regular," he mused.

"You like it?" Yosuke asked him.

He nodded his head. "Yeah, I do." There was a maturity in Kanji's voice when he chuckled quietly and said, "I complain about the monkey suits and everything, but I like it. But sometimes I wonder if..." he paused, trailed off and shook his head no. "Nah, never mind."

Tilting his head to the side, Yosuke shook his head, too. "No, you can't just do that," he said, encouraging Kanji a little bit.

"Do what?"

Yosuke laughed a little. "Can't just start something like that and not finish it. What's up, man?" He slid his hands into his coat pockets and waited for Kanji to keep talking.

At first, it didn't look like Kanji was going to answer him. He huffed an exasperated sigh and rolled his head to look away from Yosuke. Embarrassment; Yosuke could see it as plain as the nose on Kanji's face. Eventually, though, Kanji turned his head and looked at Yosuke with a sigh. 

"Alright," Kanji started. "Alright. So... I like working with the cops. Really like working with Naoto. I love working with Naoto. But lately I've been wondering if I should... I dunno, if I should try'n actually work _like_ her, y'know? Like, be a private detective. Try'n be her partner or somethin'." He paused to laugh at himself, like he thought the idea was crazy or something.

Yosuke didn't laugh. "Yeah, and?" he asked, suggesting that he didn't, in fact, think it was crazy.

Kanji looked incredulous. "Well, ain't it nuts?" he asked expectantly.

With a raised eyebrow and a shake of his head, Yosuke hummed his disapproval. "No. Why would it be crazy?" And before Kanji could object and explain why it _was_ crazy, Yosuke continued. "You've more or less been working with her for years now, right? Doing all this undercover stuff and going over security videos with her and whatever else?" Because that was the impression that he got.

Scratching a hand along the back of his neck, Kanji nodded. "I mean, yeah, but... but I ain't the brightest bulb in the box, Yosuke." The first part was spoken in classic Kanji relaxed tone, but he paused, and when he spoke again, that maturity was back again. "I'm worried that I'd just hold her back," he admitted.

Honestly, Yosuke knew that Kanji wasn't a million IQ genius like Naoto and Jude were. But, "just because you're not a certified genius like Naoto is doesn't mean you're stupid, Kanji," he said seriously.

"Naoto says the same thing all the time," Kanji rolled his eyes. "That I ain't as dumb as I think I am. But it takes real brains to be as good as her. I ain't even close."

Yosuke nodded, but then shrugged. "So?" he asked, and Kanji was about to open up to speak again, but Yosuke cut him off. "So you learn with her. If there's anyone who's equipped to teach you to be a detective, it's Naoto, man. And if you think she wouldn't be more than happy to..." He didn't feel like he needed to go on from there.

But it seemed like that, too, struck a vaguely uncomfortable tone with Kanji, who let out a derisive grunt. "She's got better things to do with her time than teach me detective shit," he muttered.

There was something that told Yosuke that Kanji hadn't even bothered to ask Naoto yet, though, and he made a face. "Don't you think that's for her to decide?" Sure, it was nice that he cared about her not 'wasting her time,' or whatever, but Yosuke knew that Naoto would've been more than happy to teach him. If he'd just ask.

His silence was enough of an answer, but he shrugged his shoulders, too. "I guess..." he muttered.

"And don't you think she'd be more bothered if she found out that you hadn't asked her? 'Cause I have a feeling that she'll be thrilled if you do." It was more than a feeling, honestly. It was more like something Yosuke knew, in his heart of hearts. Naoto would be disappointed if she found out that Kanji was hiding this from her.

And clearly, by the expression currently crossing his face, he knew that. "You think she'd do it, though?" he asked.

Snorting a little laugh, Yosuke nodded. "I think she _has_ been doing it for more than four years now. I mean, hell, we're all at least partially trained after what we've been through, don't you think?" It was a rhetorical question, and he was sure that there was more to it than what they'd learned during their case, but Kanji had been working with her on a lot since then, so it stood to reason that he'd know more.

"So..." Kanji stumbled for a second, then breathed deep and looked at Yosuke, sincerity in his expression. "Y'think I should?"

Yosuke nodded encouragingly and smiled, stopping at the corner leading to Kanji's apartment. "I think you should," he replied. "I think you'd make a good detective, Kanji. And I think Naoto needs a partner, and there's no one better than you for the job. Someone to balance out her 'think before feeling' attitude with a 'feel before thinking' one." He smiled reassuringly and patted Kanji on the back. "You guys are as meant for each other as anyone else in the world."

In a split second, it seemed like red splattered itself all over Kanji's face. "M-meant for each other?" he mumbled, and nearly dropped the grocery bags in his hands.

God, _those_ two had been doing the will-they-won't-they dance for longer than even Jude and Yosuke had, and that was saying something. But Yosuke blew out a laugh and nodded his head. "Yeah, meant for each other. I didn't mean in _that_ way, but now that you mention it, I totally mean in that way. Yeah, you guys are totally meant for each other, and you're both way too chicken to see it," he paused, before adding, "and this is coming from someone who suffered in silence for two years because he was a chicken, so I know how it can be."

Laughing an embarrassed laugh, Kanji swallowed nervously. "Yeah, you kinda did, didn't you?" After a heavy sigh, he shrugged. "I've been thinking about asking her out to a movie or something. Some mystery movie that she'll go nuts over. You're sayin' you think I should do that, too?" After a pause, Kanji said, "'cause Rise and Jude have been sayin' it since high school. I always thought Jude was sayin' it because he's Jude and he always supports people, whatever they do, and that Rise was sayin' it to get Naoto away from Souji at the time, but..." he shrugged and looked up at Yosuke.

Yosuke laughed a little bit. Yeah, that did sound like Jude and Rise, honestly, but that didn't mean that they were wrong. "Kanji, you've been in love with Naoto since you were fifteen years old. You're meaning to tell me that you haven't come close to telling her even once?" he pointed out.

With an embarrassed smile, Kanji nodded his head. "Yeah..." he mumbled, "a couple times. More than a couple times..."

"So, just do it. If you don't, you'll be living with the 'what ifs' for the rest of your life, and it'll eat you up." Not to mention, if he didn't do it, no one would. It didn't seem like Naoto was about to speak up, either, so it'd have to be Kanji. Naoto was good at talking about matters of intelligence, but matters of the heart... that was a different animal.

Blinking a couple of times, Kanji breathed in deep and nodded his head. "You're right," he muttered. "You're totally right. I can't let this eat me up," he wet his lips and looked up at the cloudy gray sky. "I gotta man up, don't I? If I wanna know the answer, I gotta ask the question."

Yosuke just nodded.

"I talk all this shit about bein' a man, just like I did with Souji back in the day, but I really haven't changed much." Kanji snorted a breath of self-deprecating laughter. "But maybe that's 'cause I'm not really trying. Sittin' on questions instead of getting answers. Maybe I gotta try harder from now on. Y'know, be the man I used to say I was gonna be back when Souji was around."

And just like it had happened with Rise, as soon as the words slipped from Kanji's mouth, it was almost like a shockwave flowed through him. He nearly dropped his groceries again--in fact, he _did_ drop one bag—Yosuke found himself idly hoping that it wasn't the bag with the eggs in it—and turned his head back up at the sky like it held all the answers. Yosuke found himself wondering if it was the same sensation Rise had felt when her persona changed, and if _Kanji's_ persona was changing, too.

Sure enough, Kanji looked back at Yosuke with wide eyes. "That was... real weird," he started, as he leaned down to collect his grocery bag from the asphalt. "Felt almost like I changed somehow. Like my persona got stronger or somethin'. Y'think that's what happened?" he asked.

With a nod, Yosuke smiled. "The same thing happened to Rise the other day," he explained. "Hers grew, too. So yeah." He lightly clapped Kanji on the back.

The pride on Kanji's face took him by surprise. It was almost as though he had just took a step in winning a long-fought battle, like he'd been fighting for his life somewhere and was finally working toward victory. Maybe it was true. If the smile that spread across his face was any indication, it was.

 _Thou art I, and I am thou,_ Margaret's voice sounded off in his head again, a little bit quieter this time.  
_Thou hast reinforced a long-standing bond._  
_These bonds shall be your eyes to see the truth._  
_We bestow upon thee the ability to create Odin, the ultimate form of the Emperor Arcana._

It took Yosuke by a little bit less surprise sometime, but he still found himself blinking the sensation away. Kanji was looking at him in surprise and concern, just like Rise had been, and Yosuke chuckled awkwardly. Why did Margaret's voice had to overpower whoever he was talking to when it appeared in his head? Because he was reasonably certain that Kanji had been asking him if he was okay for the past couple of seconds. Had Souji gone through this when he'd been around them? Because if he had, he'd carried it remarkably well...

Yosuke tried to explain to Kanji, in somewhat short-form, that it was what happened when he 'strengthened a bond,' like Igor and Margaret told him to do. It appeared that Kanji understood, but he still looked a little awestruck as he looked at Yosuke with a hard blink.

"Well, damn. Guess it's kinda us helpin' you in return for you helpin' us," Kanji mused. A surprising bit of insight, and an appreciated one, too.

Blinking his eyes and shaking his head to dispel that weird feeling of having someone talking in his brain, Yosuke nodded. "Yeah, I guess so. Not necessary when you put it that way, though." He tucked his hands tighter into his coat pockets and hummed thoughtfully.

Kanji shrugged. "Well, those blue people said that you'd need what you get from it, yeah? So..." He trailed off and turned to face Yosuke when they arrived at the bus stop. "Listen. Ma's waiting for me at the shop, so I can tidy up the displays. She really wants to see you and Jude soon, though. Says she feels like she never sees you two anymore since you moved to Okina." He chuckled softly and nodded down the street. "If I know Ma, she'll be steamed if I don't invite you guys over while you're in Inaba. So, maybe tonight?"

With a smirk, Yosuke nodded his head. "I'll run it by Jude when he gets out of work tonight, but I can't see him saying no," he replied honestly. "Even if I'm sure he'll insist on coming over early to help your mom cook." Because that was just how he was.

"I think Ma'll like that. She always liked it when Jude helped her before," Kanji mused. "Think Jude spent more time helping Ma, your folks, and Rise's grandma cook dinners than he did at his house growing up."

That probably should have made Yosuke laugh, but it didn't. Yosuke's parents, Kanji's mom, and Rise's grandmother all loved Jude like family, so why couldn't his dad? Maybe he'd talk to Jude about everything after dinner tonight. They needed to pass the Mathis Family Clinic on the way back to the bus stop anyway, so... he'd have the perfect opening to bring everything up. Running a hand through his hair, he nodded at Kanji and shrugged a shoulder.

"I'm sure I'll see you tonight, alright, Kanji?"

*

Sure enough, Jude had insisted on going to Kanji's mom's place as soon as he'd gotten out of work. Honestly, the suggestion itself seemed to spark a complete one-eighty in Jude's mood. He'd come home looking dismal, the way he usually looked when he got home from working at the hospital, and muttered something under his breath about Uehura-san. After that, Yosuke hadn't needed to hear any more. She still treated Jude like a rookie after all this time, and Yosuke never said anything, but he was reasonably certain that she was the reason why Jude never got any promotions or raises. She was, after all, in charge of his performance reviews. It hurt Yosuke sometimes, seeing Jude wasting his potential like he was. But until Jude opened up... _if_ he opened up, there was nothing more he could do.

Seeing Jude helping Kanji's mom cook an elaborate dinner only solidified the point that he was made to be some kind of cook. Not only did he seem to have ideas that even impressed Mrs. Tatsumi, but the smile on his face as he put everything together was just... it was the kind of smile Jude wore when he was _truly_ happy. A real smile. A beautiful smile. Yosuke had resolved, in that moment, that he needed to find a way to make him smile like that all the time.

After they finished eating—the food was amazing, too—they'd sat and talked with Kanji and his mother for a little while, about everything, about nothing, about how everyone had been doing. Even _she_ had seemed dismayed to hear that Jude was stuck in the hospital. _Aren't you wasting your potential, dear?_ she'd asked, and Jude had gone completely silent, staring down at the floor.

They'd stayed for a little longer after that, with a promise to visit more often, and then started the walk to the bus stop. Jude was still quiet, pensive, and staring at the ground as they walked, and Yosuke watched him for a few seconds, wondering exactly what he must have been thinking.

"That was fun," Jude finally broke the silence as they passed the end of the Tatsumi Textiles building.

Yosuke looked over to see that Jude was wearing a small, slightly embarrassed smile. "Yeah. I was gonna say that I never expected Kanji's mom to make enough food for an army, but I totally did." He idly moved a little closer to Jude; they weren't touching, but he just wanted to be a little bit closer.

Jude was quiet, pensive as they continued across the shopping district. "Did I tell you that Uehura-san is sending in performance reviews again next week?" he asked.

And there was the opening. It was the biggest opening that Yosuke had ever actually seen to get Jude to talk about quitting, anyway. He definitely wasn't going to let it slip away. Shaking his head no, he took another side-step closer to Jude to encourage him wordlessly to keep going. "You didn't," he replied.

With a nod, Jude mirrored Yosuke's movement, stepping a little bit closer. Their arms brushed together every step they took now. "I'm honestly amazed that I haven't been fired yet. She always writes things like, 'still a little slow to respond' or 'needs work in a, b or c area.'" There was awareness in his voice, like he knew that the claims were bogus, but he wouldn't complain. Jude didn't complain. Not really.

Yosuke's brow furrowed in irritation, and he sighed. "I think she just has it out for you because she knows that you could do her job twice as well as she does it," he offered.

Jude laughed a single, soft laugh and shrugged one shoulder. "Maybe. Sometimes I wonder if I shouldn't just-"

As if sensing an opportune moment to come in and ruin everything, an unpleasantly familiar voice echoed from the other side of the road. "Boys." Dr. Mathis' greeting wasn't pleasant, or even really happy, and as soon as the words hit Jude's ears, he quickly put some space between he and Yosuke.

"Hey dad," Jude said softly, instantly sounding like the shy, meek boy he'd been when they met.

Yosuke couldn't help it. His eyes narrowed on instinct, but he tried to keep his expression level otherwise when he turned and glanced across the street at the man he hated nearly as much as Tohru Adachi. "Dr. Mathis," he greeted curtly.

"I heard from Satonaka's father that the pair of you were back in town for awhile. Some kind of vacation?" Derrick's voice was sharp as he looked at Jude with disapproval. "It was a little bit disappointing to hear from someone else that you would rather stay at the Amagi Inn than with your own parents, Jude."

Jude bit his lip and looked up at his father apologetically. "I didn't want to impose on you and mom. Besides, the inn is closer to the hospital." The last part was tacked abruptly on to the end, like he knew that it would make his father less inclined to complain.

Seemingly appeased—at least moderately—by the answer, Derrick's head turned to look from Jude to Yosuke, a sneer on his lips when he said, "I'm amazed that you were able to find separate rooms, what with the Amagi Inn being as busy as it is all the time." He crossed his arms at his chest and raised his chin, a sorry attempt at an intimidation tactic.

But Yosuke didn't even flinch, or hesitate, when he responded. "Yukiko manages the inn, and she's one of our best friends. She pulled some strings," he lied flawlessly. This man wasn't going to scare him.

"That's good," Derrick's voice darkened. "I can only imagine the heads that would turn if rumors were to spread of the two of you sharing a room. It was already bad enough to curb some slightly looser lips when the pair of you moved to Okina together."

From where he was standing, Yosuke could clearly see the red on Jude's face, and Yosuke's protective instinct kicked in. "With all due respect, Dr. Mathis, I'm not really worried about some passing rumors," he explained, stepping in front of Jude to shield his red face from Mr. Mathis' field of vision. "And I'm sure Jude isn't either." He felt the need to speak for Jude here, if the way he was looking down at his shoes was any indication.

Derrick hummed in response, a sound that could mean any multitude of things. Irritation, knowledge, disapproval... maybe all of them at once. He looked right at Jude now, putting his hands in his coat pockets. "Uehura-san told me about your performance review, son," he leered, disappointment dripping from his tone as he bared down on Jude like a weight strapped to his shoulders. "You really need to work on that response time, son. Speedy response can be the difference between-"

"-life and death for a patient," Jude finished the sentence along with his father, embarrassment and sadness dripping from his tone. "I know."

Derrick's mouth was a thin straight line as he continued speaking. "Perhaps we can attribute your lack of progress to the unsavory element you find yourself in the company of all the time," he taunted, his eyes moving to look directly at Yosuke as he spoke. "The Shirogane girl is okay, but the others? Perhaps some time apart will do you two some good. Allow you to re-evaluate-"

Yosuke was about to speak up in his defense, but evidently he didn't have to. "Don't." Jude's voice was far more steady than he'd ever heard when speaking to his father. "Stop that. You can comment on my failures all you want, dad, but leave Yosuke and Rise and Kanji and the others out of it." There was a surprising sharpness to his tone now, almost like he was daring his father to continue speaking.

A monotone laugh was the only initial response Dr. Mathis gave, as he turned his eyes from Yosuke back down to Jude. The same sharp expression crossed his face, and he shrugged. "Very well. It was merely a suggestion, but you can do with it what you will, Jude. You always do."

Without any kind of pleasantry, any kind of farewell, Dr. Mathis turned and walked back across the street to his house. With a final glance over his shoulder, he walked into the building and closed the door behind him. And now, Yosuke was fighting with himself. He wanted more than anything to do one of two things. Firstly, he wanted to scoop Jude into his arms, tell him that he loved him and that everything would be okay. Secondly, he wanted to cross the street, knock on the door, and punch Jude's father squarely in the face for humiliating Jude like he had, and ruining the first chance they had to discuss the situation at hand. But neither of those were likely wise at the moment.

Instead, he settled on raising a hand and placing it on Jude's shoulder. It wasn't enough; wasn't even close to what he wanted to do. But it would have to do for now. He needed to do something to let Jude know that he wasn't going anywhere. That nothing that Derrick Mathis or anyone else could say would scare him away. Not now, not ever.

"Let's head back to the inn, Jude..." Yosuke offered, his voice hushed, and his hand not moving from Jude's shoulder.


	7. Chariot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An appearance of an expected-but-unexpected face.

**March 23rd, 2016**

It had been embarrassingly long since Jude had spent time with Kanji and Rise like this, but it was nice, especially with the addition of Ken and Elize to their little lunch bunch. Rise's grandmother had been absolutely over the moon to see him. She'd hugged him with more power than he ever expected her arms to have, and then moved on to Ken and Elize, fussing over them and asking if they were eating properly. Their 'I think so' answer had proved unsatisfactory, and then she had turned back to Jude, pointed at him and said, _you and I are going to make these two a grand lunch today._

Jude wasn't sure why everyone was trying to push him to cook so much lately, but the truth of the matter was, he really didn't mind. The time he was spending in the Amagi kitchens was actually expanding his horizons a little bit. One of the inn's guests had ordered foie gras the night before, and Jude had never cooked it, but by the time it was finished cooking, Jude was actually confident enough to add a little bit of his own flair to the seasoning. Ina-san had been so impressed that she'd practically begged Jude to teach her what he'd done.

It was the most job satisfaction he'd ever had in his entire life, and it wasn't even his actual job.

The other night, he'd been planning to gauge Yosuke's reaction to the idea of him quitting at the hospital to go to culinary school and working part time at the inn. Well, okay. He knew what Yosuke's reaction to him quitting the hospital would be. But he couldn't recall ever having told Yosuke about his desire to cook. It wasn't like it was a deep, dark secret or anything. He loved to cook for the people he cared about, so was it so much of a stretch to cook professionally? It was, Jude realized, when your father was so determined to have you work in the medical industry that your own wishes and interests got cast aside like they were some kind of silly fantasy. Besides, he resolved, it'd be a shame to waste all the time he'd put into learning medicine. Wouldn't it?

 _It couldn't hurt to tell him, though. See what he'd think of the idea..._ Jude has resolved as they'd left Kanji's mother's house two days ago.

He'd told Rise and Kanji by accident a few years ago. They'd been talking casually about what they wanted to do when they got out of high school, and Jude had been so comfortable and relaxed that 'cooking' had just slipped out, unbidden. He'd sworn them to secrecy, though, and as far as he was aware, neither of them had ever broken that promise. Still, it had seemed wrong to him, to have Kanji and Rise know that and not Yosuke. But, as usual, when the thought of sharing his desire to quit his job entered his mind, the fates intervened and reminded him exactly how bad an idea it was. The confrontation with his father at the shopping district was a mental slap in the face, telling him that things were probably best in the status quo. For everyone's sake.

Right now, he didn't want to think of that though. Because right now, he was with some of his favorite people, and he wanted to go back to enjoying himself again. Rise had just announced to the group that she had just talked to Inoue-san about finding a new recording contract for her, and that she was going to go back to it 'once she worked some personal things out,' (things which, Jude assumed, revolved around the final resolution of the case), so their dinner of chicken and tofu croquettes had turned celebratory pretty quickly.

"So, yeah," she beamed proudly, "Teddie and me are gonna go scout apartments in Kyoto once everything's all over. We were gonna go for Tokyo, but I think the rates in Kyoto will be cheaper, and it'll be a little more private."

Elize was smiling with her whole face when she looked at Rise and said, "will you let us come visit you a lot? I've always wanted to see Kyoto," between bites of food.

Nodding emphatically, Rise looked back at Elize with an honest smile. "Like I'd let you get away with _not_ coming to visit me," she insisted. "I'd haul my butt back to Inaba and pick you up if I had to." She put an arm around Elize's shoulders and pulled her close in a hug. 

Quirking his head to the side, Kanji pushed his empty plate toward the center of the table. "So, Ted took the news of the show bein' canceled okay?" he asked.

Rise's smile softened; it was still happy, but it was also relieved now. She nodded her head. "Yeah, he was great about it. He also asked me if I'd be okay if he tried to act on another show, though," she shrugged. "He _asked_ me. Like I'd say no." Her laugh was equal parts incredulous and affectionate. "I think he's got a total career as an actor ahead of him."

Ken, who had just finished his last bite of his second helping of chicken-tofu croquettes, nodded his head. "I think he was just worried that you'd be offended if he kissed another girl on stage, Rise-san," he suggested.

"Pff," Rise waved her hand nonchalantly. "I mean, I bet those girls will fall head over heels for him, but Teddie's basically Rise-crazy," she told Ken with a genuine smile on her face, like she was just now starting to realize that. "Which is totally fine by me."

Jude chuckled softly as he looked at Rise's satisfied face. "A far cry from the Teddie of old, but it seems to work for him, I think," he mused, offering a third helping of food to Ken, who appeared to think about it for a few seconds, before finally accepting. "That's great, though, Rise," he leaned against his hand on the table, smiling at Rise. He was glad to see that she'd finally admitted that she belonged on stage. Both she and Yosuke did.

Kanji scratched the back of his head and cleared his throat. "So. Naoto 'n I are partners now," he offered, filling a brief moment of silence with a piece of good news.

A piece which Rise completely misunderstood, of course. "Oh my _god_ , Kanji! You finally asked her out?" she squealed excitedly, nudging Kanji with her shoulder and looking at him with utter shock on her face.

"Wh-what? No! Not... not _that_ type of partners, Rise, jeez!" He stared at her for a couple of seconds, jaw agape and eyes as wide as saucers. "I mean... not yet. I ain't asked her about that yet. But I asked her about workin' with her for real on detective shi--er, stuff..." He looked apologetically at Ken and Elize when he cursed.

Ken laughed a little bit at that. "You don't have to do that, Kanji-san," he told Kanji seriously.

With a shrug, Kanji bit his lip. "Still gonna," he replied. "But yeah, took a lot of convincing and reminding that I've been her partner for a long time now, but now we're an official detective team." There was pride on Kanji's face when he spoke.

It would have been easy to feel bitter in that moment; to feel resentful of his best friends for how they were growing and going out to catch their dreams. But Jude wasn't. Sure, a part of him was feeling a little bit left-behind, but it was easily tamped back by how genuinely proud he was of his friends. Rise would be happy focusing more on her music. And even though Kanji probably never would have expected to be a detective, Jude could easily see it working out, especially with Naoto guiding him. Scratching a hand through his hair, he turned to look at Ken, who seemed to be practically chomping at the bit to tell them something.

"I got a part time job!" he exclaimed without provocation. "I'm working with Diadara-san, at his front desk, so he can focus more on smithing."

Elize nodded excitedly, then said, "and I'm working with Shiroku-san. She's got me stocking shelves, and she told me that she'd definitely work around school stuff, so," her face was excited. Beaming. Like she was endlessly proud.

Jude reached over and ruffled Ken's hair affectionately, while Rise pulled Elize in for a hug. "That's great, you guys," Jude told them seriously.

With a proud smile and a nod, Kanji patted Ken on the shoulder. "Man, you guys're way more responsible than I was when I was your age." And it occurred to Jude only then, that the pair were the exact age now that Rise and Kanji had been when the case began. "I was still a mess."

Rise nodded. "Me too," she agreed. "I was taking my break from showbiz at the time, and trying to convince myself that I didn't wanna go back. I would've never imagined getting a part time job." She paused and looked at the table reflectively. "I was pretty intent on a life with Souji at the time..." she mused quietly.

The name brought a dark silence over the table; Rise and Kanji probably revisiting the betrayal, and Ken and Elize were likely unsure how to stop it. Jude felt like it was his duty to dispel the cloud. He shrugged a shoulder and looked between Rise and Kanji. "Yeah, but look at you now," he pointed out. "You've got a life with Teddie, and you're not lying to yourself anymore, Rise. And Kanji, you're finding new sides to yourself every day. Making yourself and everyone around you proud."

Jude was reasonably certain that Kanji had said someting in reply. He wasn't sure what it was, though, because instead, his eyes were transfixed on the backyard of the Moel gas station. Or, not the yard itself, but the person _in_ the yard. It was peculiar. That attendant had worked there as long as Jude could remember, but never once did he remember the guy—was it a guy? Jude couldn't honestly be sure—staring at them as intently as he was right then. Even from this distance, it was almost like he could clearly make out his bright red eyes, and it was unnerving. It seemed like he and Jude locked eyes for a solid twenty seconds. Only when a second figure appeared in the backyard did the attendant break his gaze.

And that second figure made Jude sit straight up in his chair.

They were far away, and that was the only reason that Jude was even remotely questioning himself. But even with that doubt, he would remember that silver head of hair anywhere, as well as those piercing silver eyes. "It can't be..." he murmured.

Rise was staring at him with wide eyes; initially the only one at the table to catch on to the change in Jude's posture. "Jude?" she called out calmly.

When Rise called his name, the others turned to look, and Ken's calm voice was the next one he heard. "Jude...?" he asked. Jude would have marveled at the lack of a suffix, if he wasn't so horrified by what he was seeing.

The others were staring now, and Jude felt instant regret for bringing the mood at the table down, but if it really was who he thought it was... _You're sure, though. His face is unmistakable..._ he told himself. It was. It had to be. "Souji..." he muttered under his breath.

As soon as the name escaped his lips, the eyes on him widened. And then he could almost feel the atmosphere shift when the group of them snapped their attention in the direction he was facing. He vaguely heard Rise saying that it _was_ him, and asking what to do. As if in some kind of unspoken communication after that, all five of them were on their feet in an instant, and sprinting toward the gas station in utter shock. At about the halfway point, they were forced to watch helplessly as Souji—it _had_ to be Souji—turned and looked at them, winked, smiled and then went into the back room of the gas station.

"He's finally showing himself!" Rise shouted between strides. She and Ken were a little bit behind Kanji and Jude, and Elize was slightly behind them, but they were still keeping a decent pace.

Kanji hurried up to the back door of the gas station and pushed it open without even waiting for the others to get there. Concern leaped up from Jude's stomach and into his chest. "What are you doing?" he called as he pushed the door open himself to catch up to Kanji.

Panic was bubbling as he stepped into the room. If Kanji was facing Souji by himself, what could be happening? What was he doing? But as soon as he spotted Kanji, a wave of relief washed over him. He seemed okay. Just... perplexed. Confused. He was looking around the room, and Jude could practically see the giant question mark over his head.

"He ain't here. There ain't nowhere in here he could hide, either..." Kanji muttered as Rise, Ken and Elize walked into the room. "Maybe he's out in the main store."

Without another word, Kanji headed out into the main store. Jude turned to look at Rise, Elize and Ken and then back at the door. "Elize, Ken... stay with Rise, please. You three wait out the back door, just in case he's out there. If you see him, don't chase him; Elize can come and get me, and Ken can stay with Rise."

Jude watched the other three nod and head out the back door, before turning and hurrying after Kanji. When he got into the store, he was surprised to see the attendant approaching Kanji with annoyance in his expression. He was shouting something about 'hey, what the hell were you doing back there?' And then he turned on Jude. His red eyes were wild and wide, and he glared at Jude now. "Okay, seriously. How many of you are back there? Did you steal anything? Do I need to call the cops on you?" He looked furious, and Jude found his presence oddly intimidating.

But Jude didn't panic. He shook his head no and gave the clerk a level look. "No, no I'm sorry. We just..." he paused, trying to think of the best way to explain what had happened. "We saw someone familiar. He was just with you. Silver hair, silver eyes..." Casting his eyes around the store, he looked for Souji, but was endlessly confused when he saw no one there.

Could he have gone to the other side? Jude's cursory glance assessed that there was a small TV behind the counter, but it had to have been too small for Souji to have gone into that quickly. At least not without help. And there was no way the attendant could have helped him. Right?

"So, because you see someone you think you know--which, by the way, no one's been in here since noon--you break the law and barge into the employees only room of a gas station? Get out. Both of you, get the hell out," the attendant cursed, red eyes flickering with an angry fire.

Kanji didn't look like he was going to listen right away. He was still scanning the store for any hint of Souji. Eventually, his tense shoulders relaxed, and then drooped in defeat. Souji wasn't here. Not now. But... he'd just been here, hadn't he? Jude had seen him, and so had everyone else. There was no way that he was imagining things. And if he had been, there was no way that Rise, Kanji, Ken _and_ Elize had all been imagining things, too. He was there. But he wasn't here now.

What in the hell had happened, then?

The attendant was glaring at them again, red eyes furious, as he said, "get _out_! Or I'll call the cops!" before going behind the counter and reaching for the phone.

Jude grabbed Kanji's arm and pulled him toward the front door. The last thing either of them needed was to spend an evening in jail over this. But what they did need to do was call a meeting and tell the others what they'd seen. "Come on, Kanji. We need to leave..." he told his friend, but that didn't stop him from casting a cursory glance around the store on his way out. Nothing looked out of the ordinary, and when the door swung closed behind him, he pushed out a heavy sigh. "We need to get everyone together."

But how was he going to break it to Yosuke?

*

"Dude, Chie, that's your fifth bowl of ramen."

Apparently, no matter how much older Chie got, her appetite never changed. She was lucky that she was as athletic as she was, Yosuke had always imagined, because she would blow up like a balloon. But she was still the same old Chie, through and through. Still excitable, still carnivorous, still the 'speak before thinking' type. Still the same Chie she'd always been. Little things like that, Yosuke was endlessly thankful for. He watched her as she slurped down the bowl with a shrug and a smile.

"I'm a growing girl," was her mouth-full-of-ramen response.

His eyebrow quirked incredulously and he shook his head. "Chie. You're twenty one." He crossed his arms at his chest as he twirled some noodles around on his chopsticks. "I'm pretty sure you haven't been a growing girl for a few years now." Or maybe he was wrong.

Chie shrugged again, completely remorseless as she slurped up a noodle. "Don't care. Still a growing girl and still want to devour all this ramen. And still want you to pay for me." Her smile turned wicked as she looked across the table at Yosuke, expectantly.

And now, Yosuke's eyes narrowed. "Man, almost four years and you're still riding the freeloader train," he huffed as he pulled his wallet out and put 3000 yen into the bill pouch.

"It's my favorite train. Even if the layover's kinda rough sometimes." That, at least, was different. Chie used to insist that she wasn't freeloading, but this time she'd gone right along with it and was smirking at Yosuke like she was the happiest person in the world.

In all seriousness, Chie wasn't nearly as bad about freeloading as she used to be. But that she could take a joke about it now said a lot, because back in the day, when Yosuke would tease her about being a freeloader, it looked almost like she was going to plan his assassination. Now though, now she just laughed, shrugged and went right along with it.

He smirked wryly and shrugged a shoulder nonchalantly as they left the restaurant. "Careful about the next couple stops, though. Yeah, Freeloadburg is a great city, but Revengeville and Paybackton are pretty tough neighborhoods. So I hear." He stuffed his hands into his pockets glanced back in the direction of Junes. It had been happenstance running into Chie on his way to lunch, and now the pair had to walk back to the same area together. Which was fine. It gave him a chance to catch up with her. It had been a few weeks.

"So, four years for you and Yukiko, huh?" he asked her with a little smile.

Chie's smile was _not_ little, or subtle in the slightest, when she nodded in response. Rather, she looked like she'd just won a million bucks. "Four years for me and Yukiko," she repeated, seeming a lot more soft-spoken about it than Chie generally did.

Yosuke watched the expression on her face and was a little surprised at how subdued it was. Sure, she'd always been a little bit shy when it came to matters of romance, but he would have thought that with four years under the belt for she and Yukiko, she'd be a little more comfortable about it now. Maybe it was one of those things people never got fully relaxed about, conversationally. At least not for people in hush-hush relationships like Chie and Yukiko, or he and Jude, for that matter.

But Chie still looked really, really happy. Not that he expected any less. As soon as that thought entered his mind, though, a pensive look crossed her face and she looked down at the ground. "Although, sometimes, I do wonder..." she trailed off, bit her lip and glanced down at the pavement under her feet as she walked.

"Wonder?" What was there to wonder about, Yosuke pondered. Chie and Yukiko had been head over heels for one another since... as far back as Yosuke could remember. "You're not doubting your relationship with Yukiko, are you?"

Chie shook her head adamantly. "No! N-no, no, of course not. We're happy. I think." She paused, biting her fingernail nervously and breathing deeply. "I mean, I'm really happy. I can't imagine myself with anyone else, but..." she trailed off, pulling the police hat off her head and holding it in her hands. "Sometimes I wonder if she'd... you know, be happier with someone else..."

With wide eyes, Yosuke looked at Chie like she was crazy. "You're kidding, right? Because I'm pretty sure if you know Yukiko at all, which I know you do, you'd know that there's absolutely no chance she'd be happier with someone else. Why would you even wonder that?" he asked, still giving Chie that 'you're crazy' expression.

"I just... I think she deserves better..." Chie muttered. "Someone who thinks before they act. Who doesn't work a dangerous job like I do. I know she worries a lot, even though I've never actually been in much danger beyond TV world stuff, but she worries that I will someday. I'm sure of it."

Yosuke shrugged and nodded his head. "Wouldn't you be more concerned if she didn't worry, though? She worries because she loves you, Chie. Not because she'd be happier with someone else," he pointed out.

Sure, sometimes he worried that Jude worried too much, but people like Jude and Yukiko were worriers. Especially when they loved people like Yosuke and Chie as much as they did. And yeah, he absolutely understood Chie's worry. But that didn't mean that they'd be happier with someone else, did it? No. There was no chance. And he was reasonably certain that Yukiko would be upset if she knew that he and Chie were even talking about this. He shook his head and wet his lips.

"No," Yosuke insisted. "Chie, you can't do that to yourself, or to Yukiko. You know she'd be really upset if she heard that you were thinking like that."

Chie made a face and held her hat tightly in her hand. "I know she would. I just want to be able to give her a good life, Yosuke. To provide for her and make her as happy as she should be. She works so hard at the inn and-"

"Exactly. She works hard, too. So _you_ don't have to provide for _her_ , you two provide for _each other_. And if you think that Yukiko would be unhappy with you, you're crazier now than you were in high school." Yosuke crossed his arms at his chest and looked at her with a look that hopefully left no room for argument.

For a second, Chie looked like she was trying to come up with some kind of argument. But eventually, she just nodded. "You're probably right..." she mused with a little smile.

Yosuke paused for a moment, expecting the sensation of Margaret telling him that he'd strengthened a longstanding bond. But when it didn't come, part of him wondered if Chie was telling him the whole story. Was there something else on her mind that she wasn't sharing with him yet? And how did he get to it, if she wasn't sharing it? He turned to look at his long-time friend, who had that thousand-mile stare she often got when she was thinking. It looked like she was completely out to lunch.

In fact, it wasn't until she stumbled over a crack in the sidewalk and almost did a faceplant that she realized that she'd been quiet for so long. "I'm... uh... whoa," she mumbled.

He watched her for a couple of seconds and then arched an eyebrow. "So, I don't know why, but I get the strangest feeling that worrying about Yukiko's well-being isn't the only thing on your mind..." he mused with a quirked smirk.

Chie turned to look back at him, and then back at her hat in her hand. "Oh," she chuckled awkwardly, then nodded her head. "I, uh... I guess not." With the way she was gripping the brim of her hat, Yosuke was starting to wonder if it would ever sit normally on her head again, but sure enough, when she let it go, it almost sprang back to its original state.

"And?"

With a sigh, Chie held her hat out to Yosuke. "This. Or, well... not this itself, but... what it means." She let Yosuke take it from her hands, then looked at it in his hands.

"That... your head isn't cold?" Yosuke half-joked, but judging by the expression on Chie's face, this wasn't the time for jokes. "Okay, not that. But you're gonna have to be a little clearer than that, because I'm failing to understand here..."

Sighing yet again, Chie straightened a couple of wrinkles on her uniform. She smoothed a hand through her hair and glanced back up at Yosuke, slightly embarrassed. "Haven't you ever wondered how I'm a cop?" she asked. "Me. Ditzy, speak-before-she-thinks, say-whatever's-in-her-mind Chie?" She straightened her uniform again, needlessly this time.

Yosuke arched an eyebrow in response to her down-on-herself tirade and shook his head no. "I've never wondered, no. But I take it from that question that you have."

Of course she had. Chie had always been kind of down on her self; even back in school, she was the only one who never really believed in her. From what Souji had told him, she was down on her intelligence and her impulsiveness back then, too. But from what Souji had said, he'd talked her out of it. Yosuke supposed, though, that things ending like they had with Souji and the group had backtracked her a little bit, too. _It did it to everyone, Yosuke, not just you,_ he reminded himself. Chie's lack of answer told him more than an answer probably would have.

He looked at her hat in his hands, then turned to look at her, placing it back on her head. "I don't know why you always shoot yourself in the foot like that," he told her as he pulled the hat back down into position. She arched her eyebrow at him, before adjusting her hat so it sat the way she liked it, and Yosuke heaved a sigh. "What makes you think you're not cut out to be a cop just because you act on instinct?"

She shrugged and pondered for a moment, before saying, "Impulse can get you into a lot of trouble. Dojima-san is never impulsive. He's like... a Naoto-Kanji combination. Smart as Naoto, tough as Kanji... and he's really good at his job. I'm starting to wonder if I'll ever be that good." Pushing out a huffed breath, she looked back down at the ground.

He looked at her incredulously. "You're kidding, right?" he asked.

She shook her head. "No, why would I joke about this?" She made a face. "If I fail at being a cop, then I have to look at my whole path over again. Start over from the bottom up." She turned her head toward the ground. "I'm not a thinker, Yosuke. So if I fail-"

Yosuke cut her off with a heavy sigh and a shake of his head. "Enough of this 'if I fail' crap, Chie. Seriously. Give yourself some credit." He looked away from her, down at the ground for a minute. "I get that self-doubt sucks. We all have it sometimes, so it's not like it's so weird that you're feeling it, but obviously you're good enough to be a cop. You passed the exam and they partnered you with the best cop on the force, right?" That had to count for something.

"Yeah, but-"

Cutting her off again, Yosuke shook his head no. "But nothing," he insisted. "Yeah, you're impulsive sometimes, but some of the biggest heroes in the world are impulsive. Like, let's say there's a robbery somewhere, and you can either act and save lives or not act and not save lives. What do you think Dojima-san would do there? Or even Naoto?" The question was rhetorical, but he honestly wanted Chie to reply. He felt like she needed to say it.

She hummed thoughtfully and nodded her head. "Yeah, they'd act..." she muttered.

"And besides, you're not all impulse. There are times when you've kept _other_ people from acting on impulse." And he was surprised that she'd actually forgotten about them. "Like when we'd just caught Namatame-san, when we thought he was the killer, remember? And I wanted to throw him into the TV, but you and Yukiko, Rise and Souji stopped us?" It seemed like a lifetime ago, but he'd still be surprised if she didn't remember it. It was a huge deal. "I think your impulsiveness, _and_ your lack of impulsiveness, is what will make you a good cop, and a good partner to Dojima-san. You know what's right, and you follow your heart. You don't need to stop acting on impulse, you just..."

Chie smiled. "...need to work on knowing when to do it, right?" Her voice was a little bit more confident now.

Yosuke nodded again. "Exactly. And seriously. Don't be so down on yourself. I told Kanji this the other day, but not everyone's gonna be a Naoto or a Jude. You're smart in the ways that matter, and in the ways that don't, there are people around you who can help," he reassured her.

"So..." she paused, pulling her hat tighter onto her head. "You think I'll be a good cop?"

He nodded. "I think you're _already_ a good cop, Chie."

She had a smile on her face now, and she put her hands in her pants pockets. "Good, because... Yukiko always reassures me, but Yukiko reassures me about everything, even things that I know aren't really possible." She was still smiling, like it was a good thing, despite the fact that she was complaining about it right now.

"Just because it's that type of reassurance, doesn't necessarily mean that it isn't true."

"I know..." Chie smiled at him, and then (as expected) in a complete and total tonal shift, her eyes widened and she looked up at the sky... just like Kanji and Rise had. _There_ it was. As was standard with Chie, her reaction was a little bit more animated than the others, and she blinked a couple of times, shouting, "whoa!" and grabbing hold of Yosuke's arm. "Wh-what was that? New..." she paused, lowering her voice when she noticed that the few people around them were staring, "new power?" Her voice was more candid now, as she looked at Yosuke.

It was a little bit easier to ignore Margaret's voice in his head now, as the familiar rigmarole played like a record in his brain. The words were still clear as a bell, and overpowered everything around him, but with it being the third time that it had happened, he was a little bit less stunned by it now.

_Thou art I, and I am thou,_  
_thou hast reinforced a long-standing bond._  
_These bonds will be your eyes to see the truth._  
_We bestow upon thee the ability to create Futsunushi, the ultimate form of the Chariot arcana._

While the voice rang in his brain, he nodded in reply to her question. "New power. Comes with making the step toward accepting what you think are weaknesses, I think," he told her with a smirk.

Chie's face beamed with pride, and she looked back down at the ground in front of her. "Huh..." she mused in a soft tone.

Yosuke was about to suggest that she talk to Yukiko about what was bothering her, too, when he heard both his cell phone and Chie's go off at the same time. He arched an eyebrow, not quite willing to dismiss it as coincidence, and then the pair of them reached for their phones at the same time.

**Jude Mathis**  
_> emergency investigation team meeting._  
_> at the inn. asap. please._

"It was Jude..." he told Chie, looking up to see her staring at her phone with wide eyes. "He said-"

She nodded her head and looked back up at Yosuke, turning her phone to show him the same exact message on her screen. "Emergency meeting. Short messages aren't like him... this must be really serious..." she intoned.

Yeah. It really was unlike Jude to just send a short message like that. And if it was as serious as it seemed... Yosuke wasn't sure he was going to like what was happening. "I wonder why we're meeting at the inn and not Junes..." he muttered, as he sent a text to one of the part timers that he knew was looking for extra hours, offering them a 2000 yen bonus if they covered his shift for the rest of the day.

"I can drive us there in my squad car," Chie told him. "As long as I don't get a call in the meantime, there should be no problems..."

Something about this whole situation had Yosuke's heart in his throat, but he nodded, and the pair of them hurried toward the station, as soon as Yosuke got an affirmative response from his part time employee. Whatever this was... it had to be bad. It had to be really bad.


	8. Fortune

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A dark gift.

**March 23rd, 2016**

Natural progression had led the group back to Junes and into the TV after their meeting. When the others told brought up that Souji had finally shown himself, it had seemed like the most logical place to go. It had taken some fancy explaining to tell his coworkers why he was back after "something had come up," but his dad seemed reasonably okay with him taking the day off, anyway, and that was what really mattered. The relief at not being in trouble faded quickly, however, when they came to find out that there was no sign of either Souji _or_ Adachi in the TV world. Now, there were a whole lot more questions than there were answers. And as it stood, there wasn't a whole lot more they could do. With no idea how Souji had escaped, they were back to the hurry up and wait game.

Yosuke _hated_ the hurry up and wait game.

When everyone dispersed to get back to their jobs or whatever else they had planned for the day, only Jude, Yosuke and Naoto remained. Jude stared at the table, completely silent and appearing completely helpless. Yosuke frowned. They were all feeling like that right now, Yosuke knew it. But Jude's expression hinted that he was feeling a little something more, too.

"If I'd just been a little faster..." Jude muttered, seemingly from nowhere. It was surprising, that Yosuke hadn't needed to ask what was wrong, but he wasn't complaining about it in the slightest. "I could have caught him. Or at least seen where he went."

Naoto spoke up, even before Yosuke could, and shook her head no. "Don't do that to yourself, Jude." It was interesting to hear her say that, because Yosuke was sure she'd be saying the same thing in Jude's shoes, but he supposed it was easier to try and help from the outside.

Yosuke nodded and put his hand on Jude's arm. "You did all you could. Everyone knows that," he pointed out.

"And besides that," Naoto added, "who knows what would have happened if you and Kanji had caught him alone? Kanji can be slightly impulsive. If he'd gone into the TV, I can imagine you, Rise, Ken and Elize would have gone after him, right?"

Jude was quiet, but he bit his lip and nodded.

Which made Yosuke panic a little, but give him a calming smile all the same. "And then you'd have all been missing in there, and even if you'd caught Souji, it would have taken you awhile to get out. And you'd have had to fight him shorthanded, missing all of our arsenal..." he pointed out, trying to calm Jude's obvious nerves.

"And the help of Yosuke's new-found power," Naoto added.

With a sigh, Jude nodded again. "You're right..." he muttered. "It's just... he's out there. _They're_ out there. And we can't be together 24/7 like we used to." There was fear and anxiety in his tone now.

And it was legitimate fear and anxiety. In fact, it had been on his mind on and off all through the group's conversation. They all had jobs. It wasn't like anyone was totally alone, but the way they'd had to disperse after the meeting definitely helped to prove Jude's worrisome point. Jude was leaving for work shortly; a late night shift that would leave him alone on the streets of Inaba far past dark. A part of Yosuke wanted to meet Jude at the hospital when his shift ended, but the rest knew that Jude wouldn't want _him_ out after dark, either.

Naoto sighed a deep, defeated sigh. "This is precisely what they want, and we're forced to play into it," she intoned to the two of them.

She was absolutely right. They were using fear tactics. So far, Souji showing himself earlier was the only evidence they had that the pair hadn't cut and run straight out of Inaba when they escaped, and the worst part was that his brief appearance and then quick vanishing act had the others doubting what they'd seen. Rise and Elize were convinced that they were crazy now, that they hadn't seen what they thought they saw, while Jude and Kanji were adamant that they had. Ken wasn't sure; resting somewhat between the guys and the girls. Scare tactics. Doubt tactics. Division tactics. And there was nothing that the group could do but let them run amok. Yosuke could see the aggravation on Naoto's face as she stared at her hands on the table.

Sitting up straight, Yosuke put his hands on the table abruptly and looked between the pair. "Okay. So we're forced to play into what they want for now. And yeah, it definitely sucks. But we don't want to let it absolutely govern and destroy our lives," he insisted. He turned to look at Jude when he spoke, putting a hand on his arm and giving a half-hearted smile. "It'll be okay. No, we can't be together all the time, but..." he paused for a second, trying to pretend that it didn't bother him as much as he did.

Naoto caught on, though, and nodded her agreement. "We're all capable people," she pointed out. "Obviously the situation is less than ideal. I would like for all of us to have another of us with them at all times, but I trust that we'll all be okay." She made an attempt at a comforting smile, but Yosuke could see through it fairly well.

"And besides," Yosuke added, "this is exactly what they want from us, like Naoto said. They want us to panic and worry and mistrust what we believe. We can't. We can't let them do that to us."

He was surprised at Naoto's expression, like those words lit a fiercely determined fire under her. He shouldn't have been surprised, either, because someone as 'in control' as Naoto was likely hated to have someone else try to pull her strings. It seemed like she'd found her resolve.

Jude seemed to have, too, if the serious expression that crossed his face was any indication. He nodded. "Right," Jude agreed. "You're absolutely right." He wet his lips and looked over at Yosuke with loving, but still worried, eyes. "Thank you," he said softly. "Both of you..." he added as he turned his head to Naoto.

God, did Yosuke wish they were at the inn right now, so he could kiss those lingering anxieties away.

The worst case scenario was still concerning, and Yosuke was sure they were all still thinking about it in the back of their minds, but at the very least, the current raincloud was dispelled. He watched Jude shake his head rapidly and then open up to say something, then pause when instead, his cell phone went off and completely quieted the table.

"Work..." Jude said after he'd read the message. "They're understaffed. There was some kind of incident, and they need me."

Yosuke frowned as Jude got to his feet and pulled his coat over his shoulders. They still hadn't had the chance to talk about Jude finding another job. Ever since they'd been interrupted by Jude's father the other night, it seemed like the hospital had been calling nonstop. Like they were responding to Jude's defiance by somehow burying him over his head with work... like they could have known somehow. Still, Yosuke wished that he'd had a chance to press a little more, get Jude to open up about his job like he almost had the other day.

The word "incident" made Yosuke nervous, especially with Souji and Adachi out and on the loose, but they'd always been more inclined toward TV-world related things, so he had to figure that would continue. It was messier to do things in this world, after all.

"You'll probably be back late, then?" Yosuke couldn't mask his frown. He was trying, but knowing that Jude was stuck like he was... it hadn't gotten any easier to watch.

The responding gaze Jude faced back in Yosuke's direction could only be described as forlorn, and Yosuke instantly felt guilty for asking. "Yeah," he murmured, putting his hand on Yosuke's shoulder and giving him an apologetic look. He didn't want to leave any more than Yosuke wanted him to leave.

Forcing a smile in hopes that Jude would be able to smile back, Yosuke put his hand on Jude's, not caring who saw for a second. "Send me a message on your way home. I'll get dinner from the kitchen for you."

Jude gave a weak smile and a nod. "Thanks." he squeezed Yosuke's shoulder, turned and said, "bye Naoto," and then turned to head out of the food court.

Yosuke watched him walk away, staring after his retreating form for a moment longer than was necessary, probably. Only after Jude disappeared down the escalator did Yosuke look away, back at the table. He was worried about Jude being stuck where he was, sure. But he was more worried about him being alone today. It seemed stupid. Jude was capable of defending himself. Better than most of them, save for Chie, Kanji and Naoto, anyway. But at the same time, against both Souji _and_ Adachi? The more Yosuke thought, the more anxious he got, and he needed to get out of his head before he headed to the hospital to wait for Jude to get out.

"I can't believe he's still working there." Naoto's voice cut through his thoughts, a half-welcome bit of half-distraction.

Yosuke snorted a laugh and nodded his head. "Tell me about it. We all know how miserable he is there, and that there are a thousand things he'd be happier doing, but..." he trailed off and sighed heavily.

"But he's like me, in a way," Naoto intimated. The words took Yosuke off-guard, and he watched her intently, waiting for her to expand. She sighed. "It's... I see a lot of my old situation in him. Not the 'feeling like you have to be someone else' thing, but the 'wanting to live up to your family's legacy,' and the 'willingness to change who you are to do it' thing. Although," she paused, humming thoughtfully. "I suspect that if I decided one day that I didn't want to be a detective, my grandfather would take it far better than Jude's father would."

An involuntary sneer crossed Yosuke's lips at the mention of Jude's father and he nodded. "You're not wrong. You know, out of all of us, you're the only of Jude's friends that his father likes?" he mused.

Naoto laughed humorlessly. "I wish I could say that the feeling was mutual," she mused. Her tone told him that she didn't wish that at all.

"He thinks we're bad influences. That we're dragging Jude down or something." Yosuke's voice was a low, angry growl.

Naoto's voice was more level, if only slightly. "The only one dragging Jude down is him." She brushed a hand over her hair and sighed heavily. "I'm sorry, I can tell that you're bothered by this. But if I may offer a piece of advice," she glanced at Yosuke across the table, before looking back down at her hands. "From what Kanji has told me, Jude's father has Jude thinking that he's doing what's best with his life. He'll continue to think that unless someone points out that he's not. We've all done it for each other, and we even did it for Jude when we first met him... but..."

"But Jude needs more than the rest of us." Yosuke pulled in a sigh and nodded his head.

Naoto nodded. "You may have to push him a little," she explained as she twisted the cap from her lemon soda.

Yosuke nodded. "I know. I'm just afraid that I'd push him away..." he admitted. Apparently, however far he'd come, his fear of abandonment and being left behind was still as strong as ever.

With a soft chuckle, Naoto shook her head no. "Yosuke. I suspect that nothing short of throwing him over a cliff would push Jude away from you," she mused. "And even then, he'd probably try to come up with some kind of reason why you did it." She was smiling gently, like it was common knowledge.

"Maybe..." Yosuke mumbled.

But Naoto shook her head no. "Not maybe. I may not be any sort of human-nature guru, but I'd like to think that I know all of you well enough to know things like this." She smiled kindly. "I think you should talk to him. He'd listen to you far better than any of the rest of us." 

With the exception of maybe Rise, Naoto was right. It was just a matter of finding the right moment to bring it up, and avoiding interruptions. But maybe this was one of those things that didn't _have_ a right moment. Maybe Yosuke needed to just take whatever moment he could and throw caution and consequence to the wind here, if he ever wanted Jude to be happy. Thinking about it now, though, wasn't going to get him anywhere, because Jude was _at_ work, _at_ the very place he needed to get out of. He needed something to distract himself.

"Hey Naoto," he looked across the table at her. "We--er, you should go check the gas station, shouldn't we?" He paused. Oops. 'We' again. "I mean... shouldn't _you_? To see if you can find any signs of Souji?"

Naoto looked a little surprised, but after a few seconds, she nodded her head. "I should..." she pondered aloud. "We should." She glanced across the table at Yosuke, before holding a hand out to stop him before he stood up. "But if _we_ go, I need to be sure that you're going to let me do things by the book." Friend Naoto turned to Detective Naoto in almost a split second, and she gave him a serious look.

"Meaning, if I see anything, I tell you and let you look at it, I know," Yosuke reassured her. It seemed like ages ago, but she had examined the scene at Namatame's truck, and everyone else been forced to wait. This was the same type of situation.

Seemingly satisfied, she nodded and stood up. "I just had to make sure," she told him, putting her hands in her coat pockets and waiting for Yosuke to join her.

The walk to the Junes entrance was filled with idle chatter. Chatter about everything from Ken and Elize's part time jobs, about Rise going back into music and Teddie thinking about another show. The walk from the front door to the shopping district was similarly chatty. Naoto talked about her grandfather's excitement when she'd announced that she'd taken on a partner, and how he'd reacted when he'd found out it was Kanji.

"He was surprised, but actually quite happy. I think he said something about how he's my perfect professional balance, and how it makes sense, because we've been working together for so long." Naoto's voice was surprisingly unsure. Doubting, worried... like she wanted to object, but couldn't.

Yosuke tilted his head at her. "You sound pretty depressed for someone who found her perfect professional balance," he pointed out.

Naoto turned her head to look at him, shaking her head no. "I wouldn't say depressed," she told him. "Just... worried. Don't get me wrong, I don't doubt that Kanji will make a fine detective. He's an alarmingly fast learner, and his respect for protocol has always been incredible. It's just..." she trailed off, going silent and looking down at her shoes as she walked.

"Just..." Yosuke prodded.

With a heavy heave of a sigh, Naoto turned and looked at Yosuke. "For the time being, until he gets his license, he'd have to continue doing undercover work," she explained quietly, then stopped, like that explained it all.

Arching a brow, Yosuke nodded his head. "Right," he cued, suggesting that she continue without saying so.

"You can't see why that worries me?" she asked, scratching a hand through her hair and then turning her head back down to the ground. When Yosuke didn't respond, she sighed. "Kanji is very good at undercover work, yes. I would never deny him that. But the fact remains that he's still Kanji..." she murmured. "He's still impulsive, and still not the best at thought before action. I know that it falls upon me if he..." Once again, she paused abruptly, shook her head and rephrased, "if something happens to him."

Of course Yosuke knew that she was going to say something else, initially. But whether it was 'he messes up,' or 'he gets caught,' or maybe even something else entirely. But if he was so good, why was she worried?

Yosuke shook his head. "I don't think he's in any more danger of something happening to him than the rest of us are," he pointed out.

But Naoto's expression was incredulous. "The people he's investigating are sharks, Yosuke. They've..." she paused, "allegations indicate that they're stealing tens of millions of yen, like it's nothing. I wanted to tell him not to help me, because they'd kill him on sight if they found him out. Like he was just an ant on the sidewalk or a fly in their living space." As Naoto spoke, she became increasingly and uncharacteristically panicked. "If that happened I'd..." she paused, trailing off again and turning a little bit red.

"Be devastated?" Yosuke asked.

Naoto didn't respond with words, but a single nod instead. "Yes." She stared blankly in front of her. "It keeps me up more nights than I'm willing to admit aloud," she told Yosuke in a candid tone.

It made sense. Of course she was worried. "Does he know?" Yosuke asked.

Her eyes widened and she shook her head adamantly. "No. Of course he doesn't. I believe in his undercover skills, as much as I worry. If he heard that I worried like this, he would think that I didn't believe in him," she pointed out, pulling her lower lip into her mouth.

"That's not what I meant..." Yosuke retorted, idly using the elastic on his wrist to pull his hair up again.

It seemed like that confused Naoto, who looked at him with an arched eyebrow and a still-completely-red face. "What did you mean, then?" she asked him.

With a sigh, Yosuke placed his hands in his pockets and shrugged his shoulders. "That it keeps you up at night? That he keeps you up at night?" The question was phrased simply. Her answer would indicate how he proceeded from here.

Her eyes widened, and her face was fully red now, as she stared at Yosuke in complete shock. "Wh-what?" she asked, blinking a couple of times and shaking her head. "I n-never said that he kept me up at night. I said that the situation... that the fact that he's..." She stopped, then shook her head. "I never said that..."

"But does he?"

Naoto, who was known all too well for keeping her cool, shook her head and cleared her throat, appearing completely mortified. "No. He doesn't know that it keeps me up at night," she mumbled, pointedly avoiding using any other pronouns.

But Yosuke wasn't going to let her skirt the subject anymore. Not this time. "Naoto, you still have feelings for him, don't you?" he asked her.

And now she was completely shocked. She blinked once, twice, three times, then turned to look at Yosuke in stunned silence. Several seconds passed before she spoke up, and when she did, her voice was barely a squeak, and her words were stuttered. "S-still?" she asked.

"Do you really think we're that blind, Naoto?"

She pulled in a deep sigh, still completely red-faced, but resigned to the fact that she'd been caught now. "I... I knew that Rise had it figured out. And I'd mentioned it to Souji years ago, but... b-but I thought that I'd been subtle..." She trailed off, swallowing thickly and clearing her throat.

Yosuke shook his head no. "Remember back when everyone came to Jude's and my house a couple of years back and Rise made you up for Kanji?" He smiled warmly. "No one's judging you, Naoto. I held feelings for a long time, too, before I acted on them. Remember?"

Naoto was obviously still embarrassed, but she nodded. "I suppose I should have expected you to figure it out," she mused quietly.

Shrugging, Yosuke gently nudged Naoto's shoulder with his hand. "It's not a bad thing, Naoto. Everyone has feelings." He gave her a reassuring smile and shrugged. "Even smart, put-together detectives who like to pretend that they don't." It was meant as a joke, but he hoped it didn't come out wrong.

"I know," she murmured. "It's just knowing what to do with them that's the issue."

Once again, Yosuke shrugged. "I don't think it's the end of the world that the two of you are taking your time to talk to one another. I just... I hope you don't take too long. Trust someone who knows. You don't want that 'it almost went away' moment. " He glanced ahead as the familiar Moel Station sign appeared in the distance.

That gave Naoto pause. "It's easy to forget how much you and Jude have gone through to get to where you are. You're both just so happy together that it's deceiving," she mused. "You're referring to when Adachi shot-" she paused, stopping short and turning her head to look at Yosuke. "Ah. I apologize. I probably should talk about it in such a blasé manner," she muttered apologetically.

Yosuke nodded. "You're okay. And you're right, yeah. That is what I meant. Both times that Adachi hurt Jude," he said, disregarding her apology. "You don't want it to take that much to make you say what needs to be said, do you?" He was happy to be with Jude now, of course. But from time to time, he still wished that he'd said something sooner.

She smoothed a hand through her hair and looked down at the ground. "There's also the fact that we're working together now," she pointed out. "Mixing business with romance is dangerous. Especially since I have to put Kanji into dangerous situations every day." She sounded like she believed that, sure, but also like she was trying to come up with reasons that Yosuke was wrong. Trying to preserve her image and composure, and he absolutely understood that. It was vital to her.

But if Yosuke was right, Kanji was just as vital to her, if not more. And he had a feeling he with right.

"Weren't your parents detectives?" Yosuke asked her seriously. If he was wrong, he'd apologize, but they served to prove the point that mixing detective work with romance wasn't completely impossible, didn't they?

Seemingly understanding where he was going, she nodded her head once. "And they were happy. I see where you're going with this," she mumbled.

He nodded. "So, it can't be that, can it?" At least not the only it.

She shook her head no, staring dejectedly at the ground in front of her. Caught trying to cover her tracks again. "My whole life has been about planning everything carefully. I plan, I over-plan, I check my plans and make sure that they fit with my other plans." She paused and sighed. "How do you plan for something like this?"

With a chuckle and a shrug, Yosuke shook his head. "I don't think you do. Plans are great. Hell, I wish I was as good at planning things as you were, because maybe sometimes having things planned ahead of time would be good," he mused. "But not planning can be good sometimes, too. Life isn't always about planning everything out, you know? But sometimes really good things come from a lack of planning." He let a tiny smile cross his face as the thought of falling for Jude entered his mind. "You can't plan on falling for someone, so you probably shouldn't plan too much to tell them about it, either..." he added.

Naoto pondered that carefully, then breathed a deep sigh. "You're probably right," she mused quietly.

Yosuke smirked. "I'm definitely right. You just can't plan some things. But even if they can't be planned, they still need to be done." It was actually becoming more and more evident with this situation with Jude and his job, and the fact that it was easier to advise from the outside than act from the inside didn't escape his attention, but that was the way it was.

With a nod, Naoto closed her eyes for a second and quirked a half-smile. "I suppose being in control can be as much of a curse as a blessing."

"You just need to learn when to release some of that control," Yosuke suggested. "Like when it comes to Kanji. Or when it comes to letting yourself loose and having a little fun."

She had fun sometimes, Yosuke knew that she did. Or at least she had back in high school. But he had to wonder if that had fallen to the wayside when they group of them had gone their separate ways. She always looked a lot tenser now than she used to. Maybe being away from her friends had done that.

Naoto chuckled softly. "See, I was going to come up with some elaborate plan to do exactly that, but maybe this is how I'll start to plan less," she mused. "I won't plan on having fun, _or_ talking about this with Kanji." The way she was expressing this was like someone who _was_ planning. But he figured it would go in baby steps. "I'll just... do it. When the time feels right. But not just for Kanji, and not just because you think it's the right thing to do," she added.

"Because you should for you, right?"

Naoto nodded her head. "Because I should for me. Because I want to. For me. I want to be more like you, Kanji, Chie, Rise and Teddie. A little less plan, a little more action. It's a good way to be." She seemed pleased with herself for saying that.

"Just don't lose yourself completely to it," Yosuke added with a little grin. "We need that Naoto Shirogane sense. Pretty sure the group would be lost without it."

A pleased smile crossed Naoto's face. The self-revelation looked like it was finally kicking in, and Yosuke was kind of proud that he'd even managed to help _Naoto_ out. Like with Rise, like with Kanji and Chie, Naoto's eyes widened and she glanced up at the sky. He wasn't sure how he, of all people, had managed to help Naoto Shirogane, but it seemed like he had, and it had strengthened their bond in the process. Margaret's voice was in his head again ( _We bestow upon thee the ability to create Norn, the ultimate form of the Fortune arcana_ ), but he'd gotten used it. To pushing it aside. Sure, at the moment it was a little bit overpowering, but he'd be okay. It was good, that he was getting used to how this went now, at least.

"Did my persona just evolve?" she asked, her eyes sparkling a little bit.

Yosuke shrugged his shoulders and nodded. "I mean, it changed, but I don't know how they change," he offered.

She nodded. "It's happened before," she explained. "When Souji helped me a few years ago, something similar happened. My persona kind of told me, in some strange way, that it changed names and gotten stronger. From Sukuna Hikona to Yamato Sumeragi." She was quiet for a few seconds, before saying, "Yamato Takeru. That's what it's called now..." and letting out a soft, gentle laugh.

Wait. Had the same thing happened to Rise, Chie and Kanji? They hadn't said as much, but did their personas have new names now? It didn't really matter, but it was still an interesting development. He'd helped his friends' personas evolve. It made him feel kind of good.

"The same thing happened with Rise, Kanji and Chie. I think, anyway. We talked, they said their personas felt different, and I gained access to a new persona." He was still smiling a little bit.

Naoto hummed thoughtfully. "I should compare notes with them," she mused. "This is an interesting fount of new information."

They both came to a stop when they realized that they'd arrived at the gas station, and Yosuke looked around the parking lot in front of them. He'd been here a hundred thousand times over the years. Getting gas, buying snacks before road trips, just walking past with his friends... he never thought it would end up an investigation place. He turned his head to face Naoto and chewed on his lip. "So, where do we start?" he asked her.

"We start by scanning the area outside." She was already looking around on the ground, while reaching into her coat pocket and pulling out a pair of gloves and snapping them onto her hands. "And then, if we don't turn anything up, we can go inside and ask the attendant."

The attendant. The same attendant had worked at this gas station for as long as Yosuke could remember. Maybe there was someone else too, but Yosuke never really remembered seeing them. With a glance inside the window of the gas station, he caught sight of that oddly greasy head of curly hair, back turned to where Naoto and Yosuke were standing. Would he—was it a he?—would he have seen anything? Souji was probably noteworthy, right? Because of all the news reports and whatnot surrounding him.

Shaking his head to snap himself out of his stupor, he scanned the area around him in silence. Would Souji have been careless enough to leave anything behind? Just because he'd lied about so many other things, and so many other things had changed... didn't mean that his cool head had changed too, right?

Yosuke was about to tell Naoto that he didn't see anything, when he caught sight of her intently examining an item on the ground. Not moving it, just crouched down, staring at it silently. He turned around, walking toward where she stood and taking care where he stepped, making sure that he didn't accidentally crush any evidence they may have missed.

But it turned out that all the evidence they would really need was sitting on the ground in front of Naoto.

She heaved a sigh and reached down to pick up the small, light adorned, toy detective badge from the ground, looking it over with a sad expression on her face. After turning it over in her hand a couple times, she laid it flat on her palm and then turned around to glance at Yosuke sadly.

"I gave this to Souji in high school," she told him queitly. "It was a gift, to solidify our friendship. See?" She turned it over and used her other hand to point at the back of it. "I engraved his name right here, and the date I gave it to him here."

Yosuke's eyes were wide as he stared at the small toy in Naoto's hand. Oh god; he could only imagine how hard must it have been for her to see it, discarded on the ground like that, with some of the lights broken and one of the corners chipped. He looked back up at her face, at the thinly veiled betrayal and hurt. The barely masked anger and frustration. But along with those emotions, he saw something else. The expression that Naoto always got when she found a piece of evidence crucial to a case.

"He was here," she stated. Not like she was doubting Jude and Kanji, but like she'd merely confirmed their statement.

But Yosuke was a little less worried about that now, and a little more worried about Naoto's mental state. He made a hand gesture, like he was pushing that thought out of the way for now. "Never mind that," he insisted. "Are you okay? It can't have been-"

"It wasn't," she cut him off, the hurt flashing on her face for a second more, before she replaced it with something else entirely. Determination. "But it'll be okay when we catch him."

And when she said that, Yosuke's expression mirrored hers. If she could take her very obvious sadness and worry and turn it into motivation and determination, then so could he, right? He took another glance at the toy badge in Naoto's hand and nodded his head seriously.

"Right," he said. "When we catch him."


	9. Priestess

**March 24th, 2016**

"I just can't believe he'd do something like that. Maybe I shouldn't be surprised about it anymore, but I guess I thought that deep down, maybe he still cared about us a little bit."

Yukiko seemed incredibly agitated by what had happened to Naoto. Maybe it was because of the fact that it had made Naoto cry, and the only time any of the group had actually seen Naoto cry was when they thought Nanako had died. Yosuke had a feeling that they'd all held on to some shred of hope that maybe, deep down, Souji still cared about them. But that he'd thrown that badge onto the ground like that showed, more or less, that they were wrong. He frowned as he turned to look at Jude where he stood behind the kitchen in the inn, working on dinner for himself, Yosuke, Yukiko and Chie when she got out of work that evening. Yosuke wasn't sure what he was cooking; some kind of peculiar French dish that Jude had read about in a magazine. Ratatouille, Yosuke thought he heard Jude say.

A couple feet away from Jude stood Yukiko, mixing together a cookie recipe that Jude had been helping her with (and helping, in this case, essentially meant doing everything except the mixing), and Yosuke had to marvel for a second about his boyfriend's ability to cook two dishes at once. He looked so at home in the Amagi kitchens, and so happy as he chopped an eggplant into slices. He saw Jude smile all the time, sure, but this was a different kind of smile. A smile of satisfaction, not because of any person or any company he was in, but a smile of a man who was doing something that he loved to do.

But that was beside the point.

Yosuke looked at Yukiko and shrugged with a frown. "I was too," he confessed. "I think we all were, in a way. But I think we're long overdue to actually let go of that." It was a sad fact, but a fact no less.

"Maybe..." Yukiko looked a little bit sad. She looked back at the cookie mix, and started spooning them out onto the parchment paper.

His bitterness had obviously shone through, and he felt guilty for making Yukiko feel sad like she was, but... it was true. Souji had cast them aside years ago, and holding onto the past like that would more or less make sure that they never grew.

"I don't know if you should let go of it completely." Jude's voice permeated the silence that had blanketed the room.

Yosuke was both surprised and unsurprised to hear him say that, but looked at him in surprise all the same. "What do you mean?" he asked.

Jude shrugged his shoulders. "I mean... forgetting where you come from, forgetting what you went through, the good and the bad, to get to where you are now? I'm not saying that you should expect him to make a miraculous turnaround and be the same old Souji again. I'm sure no one expects that, though." He paused. "I'm just saying that even with as much as he's put you through, the time that you had with Souji as friends helped make you into who you are; the best people I know. Don't hold onto it? But don't let go of what it gave you..." His voice was quiet, shy, like he was a little bit nervous about what he was saying.

It made Yosuke smile, though, and he stood up, walking over to where Jude was standing and placing a hand in his back pocket. No one was in the kitchen quite yet, so he placed a kiss on Jude's cheek. He slid his hand from Jude's pocket and leaned against the counter between Jude and Yukiko.

"That's a good point, Jude," Yukiko mused, sliding the parchment of cookies and the cookie sheet into the oven.

Yosuke nodded his head. "It'd be just like denying truths again, and we don't want to do that." He wet his lips and turned to watch Jude as he cooked.

With a nod, Jude picked up a yellow onion and started chopping it. "I think it's hard to find balance between letting go of the past and letting too much go. And I think it's harder for you all to let go of this because it's still happening." He took a slow breath and put the onion into the baking pan, before moving on to the next ingredient.

Shaking his head, Yosuke watching Jude's hands nimbly cut up a red bell pepper. "It's not easy, no. But I think the fact that we're all going through it together makes it easier. And that you, Ken and Elize are there to keep us levelheaded." That wasn't to say that Jude didn't have strife of his own, but that he was able to be somewhat objective about situations like this... it did wonders.

Yukiko smiled and pulled up a chair from a few feet away. "I agree, Jude," she told him. "You and Naoto share this calm, collectedness. It helps the rest of us stay level. It's always been that way, though. I've always thought that you were exactly what we needed, exactly when we needed it." She paused. "But especially now. Naoto can't really have that levelheaded calmness about this, so having you around is a big lifesaver."

Jude's cheeks were red, and he shrugged his shoulders. "Well, you're not the hardest to calm down, Yukiko." He looked between the pair of them with a bashful smile. "I just wanted to help, really. You guys welcomed me almost immediately, and accepted me pretty quickly." He scraped some bell peppers into the pan and stretched his hands for a second.

"You really were exactly what we needed, when we needed it. You were especially what I needed..." Yosuke added with a soft smile.

The red didn't fade from Jude's cheeks, and he took a brief second to touch his hand to Yosuke's arm. "You were what I needed, too." He stopped when he saw Yukiko in his peripheral vision, his cheeks flushing a deep crimson. "Y-you all were." He turned his attention back to the table and chopped the zucchini.

Yukiko was smiling slyly as she flipped through a recipe book in her chair. "You two are adorable together." She brushed some hair behind her ear and flipped another page. After a few seconds of silence, Yukiko pointed at the page she was looking at and looked up at Jude. "Do you think you could make this some night?" she asked.

And after that, the mood in the room devolved into casual conversation, just like it usually did when any group of them were together. Jude happily chopped away and set all of the ingredients in the baking pan, before arranging them. Yosuke loved watching him work like this. It wasn't like when he visited while Jude was working at the hospital. There was no frown, no desire to be anywhere else... he looked happy. It wasn't the first time he'd ever seen Jude happy, obviously, but in a work situation... it definitely was. It was hard to make him smile and laugh when he was working at the hospital, and Yosuke had tried. Even now, with Yukiko excitedly suggesting meals for Jude to prepare for the inn while they stayed there, Jude's eyes were lit with an excited fire that he never would have seen at the hospital.

Maybe with the pair of them there, it was a good time to bring it up. Yukiko had always been good at encouraging.

Yosuke moved to stand behind Jude, and smiled a little bit as he wrapped his arms lightly around Jude's waist. "You look really happy right now," he mused softly into Jude's ear. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Yukiko looking back down at her cookbook with a wry little smirk.

"Happy? I guess so..." Jude mumbled, pressing his back a little tighter against Yosuke's chest. "I mean, I'll be happier when everything's resolved, but I'm as happy as I can be right now."

From Yosuke's position right behind and slightly over Jude, he could smell the light scent of Jude's shampoo and cologne, and it made him smile in spite of himself. Shaking his mind from the hazy stupor close proximity with Jude tended to put on him, he shrugged and rested his chin on Jude's shoulder from behind. "That's not what I mean, though. I mean... you look happy."

Jude turned his head slightly to meet Yosuke's eyes and shrugged his opposite shoulder. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"Here," Yosuke gestured broadly with one hand, to the area around them, then slid his thumb into the front pocket of Jude's jeans. "In the kitchens at the inn. You look happy. At home. Like you're supposed to be here."

In a proximity this close, Yosuke could feel his boyfriend's anxiety rising. His body tensed just a little, and there was a microscopic increase in his heartbeat that Yosuke wouldn't have noticed otherwise. God, his work situation really made him anxious, didn't it? Even when he wasn't there. Yosuke found himself subconsciously holding Jude a little bit tighter, trying to comfort him with the action. Even with that little increase in closeness, Yosuke felt Jude's body relax a little bit against him, and in spite of the situation, he felt his lips tugging up into a half-smile. It was good to know that he comforted Jude the same way Jude comforted him.

After a silence that was probably a little bit longer than was warranted, Jude swallowed nervously. "I am happy. Here, I mean," he admitted, his voice quiet and his eyes turning back to the pan before him.

Okay, that was the biggest opening that Yosuke had ever had to push this topic a little, and he would be damned if he wasn't going to take it. But it seemed like the fates were once again planning to intervene. Footsteps echoed outside the doors to the kitchen, and Yosuke both quickly and reluctantly removed himself from his position against Jude's back. He tried to keep the disappointment from his expression as he settled for leaning against the counter _beside_ Jude instead of standing close like he had been.

He glanced up in barely-concealed annoyance to see the figure pushing the door open, and was a little bit surprised to see one of the Amagi Inn security guards standing before them, looking somewhat panicked.

Yukiko looked at him with worry in her eyes. "Hiro-san? Is everything okay?" she asked.

The man looked between the three of them, before letting his eyes settle on Yukiko. "When you have a moment, Amagi-san, can you please come to the security office? It's rather important." He paused and turned his head to look at Yosuke. "You too, Hanamura-san," he added.

That gave Yosuke pause. Why Yukiko and Yosuke, and not Jude? Why Yosuke at all? He wasn't a member of the staff, so why did he need to go along? And why now, of all times? He turned his head to look at Jude, who was glancing between Yukiko and Yosuke with concern in his expression.

"It's okay," Jude told them quietly. "I'll keep an eye on the cookies for Yukiko."

Yukiko shook her head no. "It's okay, Jude. I can get one of the staff to come over here and watch over things while we're gone, because we're not going to leave you out." She stepped away, not waiting for any sort of answer from the two of them _or_ the security guard.

In spite of the dire air in the room, Yosuke found himself smiling a little bit. Good. It would have probably been upsetting for Jude to be excluded like that. He nudged Jude's calf with his foot and gave him a loving smile. Kind of an unspoken _see? Yukiko wouldn't exclude you,_ and watched the soft smile spread across Jude's face. Silent communication. Jude hadn't wanted to be left out. Of course he hadn't. If it was something that affected Yosuke, Jude wanted to be right there. Yosuke would have wanted to if roles were reversed, so he understood.

Yukiko approached again, with Ina-san next to her, just as Jude was putting his dish into the oven. After Jude gave her a couple of instructions, the three of them set off behind the head of security, in the direction of the security office.

The room looked average, as far as security offices went. There wasn't a lot of room for four people to stand, but Jude and Yosuke were in close enough proximity to one another to make it a little bit easier. Or maybe that was just an excuse to be close to Jude. Either way, it didn't matter. It was somewhat quiet in the room, aside from the security guard telling Yukiko where he'd been keeping watch, and then pointing up at a screen displaying the front door of the inn.

Yosuke didn't think much of it at first glance, but when he leaned in to get a slightly closer look, his heart leapt up into his throat. Standing there, all unassuming demeanor and easy smile, was Tohru Adachi, staring at the camera and giving a nonchalant wave. When the security leader hit play on the tape, the visage of Adachi set a large box down on the front step. He looked right at the camera and gave another smile, before turning and retreating toward the exit.

"Why didn't you go after him?" Yukiko's asked the security guard, her voice tinged with a hint of threat and danger.

The man looked panicked, but he looked at her and shook his head. "Before it happened, all of the security cameras went blank. We had no idea what was going on and thought that it was a glitch or something..." he mumbled anxiously. "When it came back, he was on all the monitors, and we didn't know what was going on until it was over." He gestured toward the table. "We sent a crew out to search for him, but all we found was this..."

Sitting innocently on the table was the very box that Adachi had set down on the ground. It was about a foot both long and wide, plain and made of cardboard... and it was addressed to "Yukiko Amagi and Yosuke Hanamura." Yosuke blinked a couple of times and then darted his eyes up to look at Yukiko, who was looking back at him with a similarly stunned expression. Addressed to them. The box wasn't completely sealed, just closed normally; the flaps were only folded in, but they were raising up like an invitation to look inside.

As much as Yosuke wanted to do just that... he didn't. He was afraid. Yeah, Jude's recent words were ringing in his head, _let go, but don't,_ but having aches from the past thrown in his face like that was a devastating thought. He found himself subconsciously seeking out Jude's presence.

Jude didn't seem to need any kind of cue, though, and he placed a gentle hand on Yosuke's shoulder to try and reassure him. It was something... but what Yosuke wouldn't give to hold his hand right now... or put his arm around him or hug him or _something_ to reassure himself that everything was okay.

Yukiko seemed to pick up on the tense atmosphere and turned to look at the security guard. "Hiro-san, can you have the other on-duty guards look around, please?" The dangerous tone in her voice was gone, but it was replaced with a commanding one. Yukiko knew that the three of them needed to talk about this by themselves.

Yosuke couldn't help but glance at her thankfully, and as soon as the door closed behind the compliant security guard, he sought out Jude's hand.

After a few more seconds of silence, Jude turned and looked between the pair, while squeezing Yosuke's hand in support. "What do you want to do?" he asked.

That, Yosuke decided, was a loaded question. And since the answer wasn't immediately obvious, he found himself stumped at exactly what to say. What _did_ he want to do? Well, he'd be lying if he didn't admit that a small piece of him just wanted to take the stupid box and crush it without looking inside. His feelings would be preserved then, and he'd also have a personal bit of revenge against Adachi. But it wasn't just about him. He turned his head to glance at Yukiko again, chewing on his lip and wordlessly asking what they should do.

She didn't answer right away, but when the pair of them were silent for almost a minute, Jude's voice busted through. "I'll look." The response was short at first, but he gently released Yosuke's hand and took a couple of steps toward the box before continuing. "If what I think is in there is in there... it'll hurt me less than it hurts you. I don't want to see you hurting over it, so I can look, and tell you what it is." He turned around once he reached the table and looked at the pair again.

Yukiko seemed conflicted. "We should call Chie..." Yukiko said. "And Naoto. They'll want to see it before we open it. But I..." She trailed off.

She was curious. Yosuke understood, because he was too. Swallowing nervously, he looked from Jude to Yukiko. "But you're curious." So was he. He closed his eyes for a couple of seconds, turning his head toward the ceiling, then looked back at Jude. "We should open it," he said seriously. "Chie and Naoto might be mad, but I'll take the blame. We... we deserve to know what's in there."

Jude nodded. "Then I'll open it. I'll act like a screen. Brace you for what's to come." It looked like he'd already made the decision, and as much as Yosuke wanted to stop him, he knew that once Jude set his mind on something, it wasn't easy to deter him. Especially when that something involved protecting his loved ones.

That didn't mean that Yosuke was going to play damsel in distress, though. He walked up beside Jude, lightly draping an arm around his waist. "I'm okay," he insisted.

"Me too," Yukiko said, and Yosuke was unsurprised to see her appear on Jude's other side.

At first, Jude didn't look certain, but he eventually nodded his head and reached down to pull back the flaps of the box, and the group of them peered inside. To the untrained eye, the torn shrine charm and pair of broken headphones would have looked like nothing but garbage, but Yosuke, and Yukiko, he was sure, knew otherwise. He reached into the box and took the headphones in his hands. In the back of his mind, Naoto's 'don't touch it' rule rang in his mind, but he didn't care. He'd given these to Souji on Christmas Eve after they'd saved Nanako and stopped the fog... and they were sitting here, snapped into three pieces like a worthless piece of garbage.

He stared at them and chewed on his lip. Now he understood how Naoto felt, and it really wasn't good. It had been years since they'd realized that Souji wasn't the same Souji that he'd been before, and the wound had healed, but it was like someone was tearing the scarred skin open.

Yukiko was holding the tattered shrine charm in her hands, and sighing as she ran her fingers along the torn edges. "He's breaking all our gifts and giving them back to us..." she muttered.

But what about Chie? Or Kanji, Rise and Teddie? Had the same thing happened to them? Were they all getting back broken gifts that they'd given to Souji? Jude, Elize and Ken didn't really know him beyond the horrible things that he'd done to them, so Yosuke wasn't sure exactly what Souji could use to taunt them, but the thought was still there.

Jude's hands were still on the box, and Yosuke could see his fingers denting the cardboard. He was calm on the outside, for the most part, but that little tip made Yosuke realize just how much this affected Jude, too. Why wouldn't it? Seeing his loved ones suffer like this, at the hands of a pair of men who had both almost killed him... he would have to be made of stone not to be affected. Yosuke stared at the headphones in his hand; a symbol of a bond that had long-since been destroyed, and breathed a deep breath.

"It's okay," Yosuke muttered. He needed to be strong here. Jude's protective anger was bubbling and Yukiko was on the verge of tears, so he needed to be strong.

Jude looked at him incredulously and shook his head no. "It's _not_ okay," he insisted, reaching a hand up and pushing some hair from Yosuke's face. "Not even close. Every time you guys move forward, every time you guys have your lives together, they come back." Of course Jude was worried. That was just who he was.

Yukiko placed a calming hand on Jude's shoulder. "But it's okay," she repeated, her voice a little less shaky now. She was still sad, of course, but she understood and agreed. "Really, Jude. It's like you said. Let go, but don't let go of what it gave us." Her eyes were on Yosuke, like she was communicating that point to him.

With a nod, Yosuke gave her a halfhearted smile. "Exactly. Souji's letting go of everything." He looked from Yukiko to Jude now, his smile warming a little more with that revelation. "He's not going to have us, or you, to hold him together. We've got the advantage, still. Because we're all in it together," he looked back at Yukiko, to reassure her too.

She nodded her head in realization, and then her eyes widened and she turned her head to the sky. Yosuke recognized that facial expression. Another persona evolution? Circumstances for this one were a little different from the others, but he'd always seen Yukiko as a little different from the others, too. She wasn't exactly self-assured, no, but she knew what she wanted in life and went for it. Her insecurities were more for others than for herself. Confidence was overstating it, maybe; more like a certain self-assuredness. If she wasn't happy, she wouldn't be where she was. That was the impression that Yosuke got. So it made sense that Yukiko's evolution had more to do with the matter at hand.

"Sumeo-Okami..." Yukiko spoke softly, looking directly at Yosuke when she said it. "Chie told me about when her persona evolved. Haraedo-no-Okami, it was called. But mine's... Sumeo Okami."

Jude looked a little bit confused where he stood between them, and he turned his head from Yosuke to Yukiko, before raising an eyebrow. "Sumeo-Okami?" he asked her. Then he blinked a couple of times. "Persona evolution? Oh!" Realization dawned on him, and he turned to look at Yosuke again. "Was this what you were telling me about with Rise, Kanji, Chie and Naoto?"

As Yosuke nodded his response to Jude, the _thou art I and I am thou_ played in his head and told him that he could create Scathach, the ultimate form of the Priestess arcana. In that moment, Yosuke realized that one of these days, before things got much crazier, he would have to go into the Velvet Room and actually _make_ some of these personas that he was gaining access to. That was five that he hadn't tried before, and he hadn't even really tried any persona fusion yet... he didn't know what he even needed to do to make it happen... _I should go try._ And they should go train. Because they'd probably need it.

Yosuke looked down at the headphones in his hand as Jude talked to Yukiko about what persona evolution felt like ( _"Like an incredible swell of power and self-awareness,"_ Yukiko had said, _"like almost nothing I've ever felt before."_ ). But Yosuke's mind was wandering. Were Adachi and Souji trying to send them a message by returning all these things broken like they were? Were they just taunting? Not knowing, having a thousand questions and no answers... it would get to anyone. 

Jude's hand on his shoulder snapped him out of his mental downward spiral, and the anxious look on his boyfriend's face made Yosuke realize that his internal monologues shouldn't really be internal at the moment. At least not when everyone else probably had just as many questions as he did. Maybe they could compare thoughts.

"I'm just wondering what they're trying to accomplish with this..." Yosuke murmured as he turned the headphones over in his hand again. "Is it just scare tactics or is there some kind of message?"

When he said that, Jude's eyes fell to the headphones in Yosuke's hands. "It's hard to say. If there is a message, it's cryptic enough that none of us can get it." He looked back up and met Yosuke's eyes, pulling his lower lip into his mouth. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"I gave these to Souji on Christmas Eve the year before we met you," Yosuke explained, his voice softening. "I knew that he was going to spent Christmas Eve with Rise, but it... I don't know. I knew that Christmas Eve was supposed to be a time that you give your loved ones gifts, so I couldn't help myself. They match the ones I used to wear in high school." Except they were silver. Like Souji's eyes.

Truth be told, he really hadn't thought all too much about his never-blossomed relationship with Souji since he and Jude had gotten together. He'd had no reason to. Even now, it seemed unfair to talk about it with Jude. He was happy. More than he'd ever really been in his life. He didn't want to give Jude doubts about that. But with this gift being thrown back into his face like this... it was hard not to think about right now. He closed his hand tightly around the pieces of headphone and heaved a sigh.

Jude shook his head no. "I recognized the style," he offered, reaching down to gently pull Yosuke's hand open.

That thought made Yosuke smile a little bit. Jude recognized the headphones that he used to wear in high school. He remembered that far back. Honestly, Yosuke shouldn't have been surprised. He still remembered how Jude looked on the day they met, with his eyes shy and his posture meek amongst all the new people. He still remembered exactly what Jude had worn that day, too. So maybe it wasn't so crazy to think that Jude remembered the model and style of headphones that he used to wear.

Souji didn't care that much, though, it seemed. "You'd think I'd be okay with this by now..." he mumbled quietly to Jude as he opened his hand.

Yukiko's voice came from over Jude's shoulder, every bit as certain as she usually was. "I think it's better that you're not," she pointed out. "You don't want to become completely jaded." She placed the shrine charm back into the box and sighed, before taking her phone from her pocket. Calling Chie, more than likely.

Jude didn't take the headphones from Yosuke's hand, instead he ran his fingertips along Yosuke's fingers. "It's good that you're not numb to it," he nodded his agreement with Yukiko. "You start becoming numb to one thing, and then it's a slippery slope before you're numb to everything and..." he used his fingertips to spread Yosuke's fingers, then laced them with his own.

"And then I lose myself. You're right." Yosuke looked at Jude, a little smile coming back to his face. "I have no idea where I'd be without you."

With a little smile, Jude shrugged. "Probably about the same place I'd be without you. Nowhere good," he pointed out, probably partially joking.

But it was probably true. Without Jude, he'd be a wreck. Definitely nowhere good. He moved the headphones from the hand holding Jude's, to the opposite hand, then put them in the box with Yukiko's shrine charm. Just because he was okay... that didn't mean that he wanted to look at them for any longer than he had to. He breathed in deeply and wrapped his arms around Jude, pulling him in close; more for his own comfort than for Jude's, and he was sure that Jude realized that.

Without any provocation, Jude returned the embrace with a tight hug of his own and rested his head against Yosuke's shoulder, and they just stayed there silent for a few moments, while Yukiko talked to Chie.

When her phone call finished, Yukiko turned to look at the pair of them, before heaving a soft sigh and walking back over to the box. "Chie is on her way home." She peered into the box and chewed on her lip. "She got a box, also. And I think the others did, too, because Rise called her saying something about a photo with burned edges." She closed the box.

"Was she mad that we opened it?" Yosuke asked her.

Shaking her head no, Yukiko sat down in the security guard's chair. "She opened hers without telling Dojima-san." She put some hair behind her ear and looked up at them. "I think she just wishes that she'd been here." For Yukiko. Of course.

It was a shame that talking about this with Dojima-san would bring him more pain than anything, because if anyone knew about criminal motives it was him. Maybe Yosuke would go visit the Dojimas himself sometime soon. At the very least, he needed to see how they were doing, how they were handling things with the knowledge that Souji was out and about.

He decided that he'd tell Jude about his idea later. For now, they'd just have to wait for Chie to get there, to figure out where to go from there.


	10. Star

**March 25th, 2016**

As it turned out, the "gift" that Teddie had gotten from Souji and Adachi had been far more troubling than anything the rest of them had gotten. Not because of how it was mauled, even though it was mauled, but because of the implications behind it.

Teddie stood before Yosuke, holding out the small Teddie plus that he'd made for Nanako a few years back, when she'd gotten out of the hospital. The buttons were torn, and stuffing poured out of it like the insides of an injured animal, and Yosuke found himself staring blankly at it, like it was the subject of all of his nightmares. That had belonged to Nanako, hadn't it? So how had he gotten in? There was no way that the Dojima family was harboring him. Dojima-san may have been Souji's uncle and Adachi's friend, but Chie knew that he was just as distressed as anyone else about Souji's escape. And Nanako was such a wekk-behaved child that Yosuke couldn't imagine her willingly letting a pair of fugitives inside the house, knowing what they'd done. Even if one of them _was_ her big bro.

So, the more troubling implication was that... "Souji or Adachi broke into the Dojima house..." he mumbled, staring darkly at the plushie as he and Teddie stood outside of Junes.

Teddie nodded his head, putting the plush toy back into his coat pocket and frowning back up at Yosuke. "That's what Nao-chan said too, when Rise and me asked her about it. She said Nana-chan and Pops would turn them in if they knew, so..." Once again, an odd maturity was on Teddie's face.

Yosuke supposed that Teddie had to mature someday, it was just really, really strange to see his high school roommate doing _more_ that just messing with him and trying to make his life a living hell. Sure, the old Teddie was still in there; that damn bear would never change. He just had far better situational awareness from being on this side for as long as he had, thanks to Rise's influence. At least that's what Jude had figured, and Yosuke had to agree. It made more sense than anything else, anyway.

"I wonder if they even know he was there," Yosuke pondered aloud, darkening the mood a little further. "Or... whichever one of them even went to get it. You're sure it's the same one?"

Teddie reached into his pocket and pulled the stuffed doll back out with a nod. "I got help from your mom to write a message for Nana-chan in here," he said, pointing to the ear. Sure enough, in Yosuke's mother's handwriting were the words 'get better soon, Nana-chan. I'm proud of you. Love, Teddie.'

So, it definitely was the same doll. Yosuke couldn't help but frown, and wonder to himself if Nanako was looking for it. If she couldn't find it. "When everything is said and done, we should fix it and bring it back to Nanako-chan," Yosuke pointed out, looking at Teddie seriously.

With a nod, Teddie put the plush back into his pocket. "Nana-chan asked about you the last time I went over to play with her," he explained. Ted and Rise made a point to go over as much as they could. Yosuke being in Okina most of the time made it a little bit difficult, but he supposed that he should probably do the same while he was in town. He had promised her, after all.

"What'd she ask?" Yosuke asked.

A little smile crossed Teddie's face, and he shrugged. "She wants to meet Jude," he explained. "Rise and me accidentally let it slip that you two are special to each other like me and Rise or Chie-chan and Yuki-chan." There was a flash of guilt on his face, but right after, it was replaced with a trademark smug grin.

"You what?!" Yosuke's eyes were wide. Nanako-chan didn't need to know about things like sexuality yet, did she? And what about Dojima-san? Had she told him? Did that mean that he probably knew about the feelings Yosuke had harbored for Souji all those years ago? Blinking back shock, Yosuke's expression quickly turned to a an icy glare in Ted's direction.

Of course, Teddie didn't shrink back in the face of Yosuke's glare. He never did. He just gave a dumb, innocent smile and shrugged his shoulders. "Nana-chan was beary curious about you. She said she missed you, and wanted to know how you were doing, so Rise told her that you and Jude were staying at Yuki-chan's place together. Then she asked about Jude. And I _don't_ remember who said it, but one of us accidentally said that Jude was very special to you."

The faux innocence on Teddie's face suggested that he did, in fact, remember who had let it slip, and Yosuke wanted to throw him into the middle of the road and into some oncoming traffic. "So. You told her that I like guys." His eyes narrowed.

Teddie shook his head no. "She figured that one out by herself. Nana-chan's not six anymore, Yosuke. She's seen boys together and girls together. Heck, she knows about Chie-chan and Yuki-chan too, and she's beary good about keeping it secret," he mused. "I don't think she's even told Pops." That last part was added like an afterthought, but it did make Yosuke feel a little bit better.

Still, Nanako's perceptiveness reminded him a lot of the way Elize had just jumped to the conclusion that he and Jude were together a couple of years ago. They hadn't been at the time, but they'd been well on their way. Honestly, was it even really that terrible if people knew? Yosuke supposed that a major downside was the fact that Jude's dad would probably inevitably find out. But honestly, in the back of his mind, Yosuke wondered if _that_ was such a terrible thing, either. No, he couldn't imagine that Jude's dad would be too understanding about it, but maybe it would free Jude from all the criticism and whatever else he got under his dad's thumb.

Yosuke gave himself a mental slap for even thinking that. No matter what Jude's dad had done, for some inexplicable reason, Jude still loved him. As much as Yosuke hated him... Jude's feelings were what was important.

"Still," Yosuke pointed out, "if there's even a chance of Jude's dad finding out? Jude's dad would... well, I don't know what he'd do, but I know it wouldn't be good."

That seemed to give Teddie pause, and he nodded his head. "Yeah, Papa Mathis is a real bully. Not like your dad," he agreed in his classic, innocent Teddie way. "He's mean to Rise sometimes when we seem him at the shopping district, but she stands up to him, and tries to convince him how great Jude is. I don't think he likes her much." Teddie seemed baffled that anyone could not like Rise.

Jude's dad was mean to Rise. A part of Yosuke wondered if he was the same way toward the others. Was he trying to isolate Jude again, so Jude would be more liable to listen to him like he used to? Yosuke felt his hands tightening into fists, and he crammed them into his coat pockets so that no one else could see.

Yosuke nodded his agreement. "He doesn't like any of us, Ted. Except Naoto," he pointed out.

"Rise's grandma told me once that if someone doesn't like so many people, they really just have a problem with themself." Teddie explained, like it was new news to Yosuke. "Papa Mathis probably has a problem with himself that he doesn't even know about."

One of these days, Yosuke resolved, he would go and have a conversation with Jude's father. He needed to ask why the man saw fit to destroy his only son's confidence the way he did. Heaving in a deep breath, he shook the thought away for now. They were going into the TV when everyone got done with their work for the day. Naoto and Jude both finished with what they needed to do for the day in about a half hour, and they'd agreed to meet up at Junes then, so he needed to calm down before then. Going in angry would make him reckless, and being reckless would probably make everyone mad.

No one was there quite yet, aside from he and Teddie, because Teddie was helping out at Junes for the time being. Honestly, sometimes Yosuke wondered why Teddie had come back to part timing at Junes while he was back in town. It wasn't like he had money troubles or anything. He was grateful, of course he was. Some of the part timers still liked to take a little too much time off, after all. Teddie was always willing to cover shifts, and his antics had calmed down a lot, too. Sure, sometimes Yosuke still caught him trying to con extra food from the sample ladies, but honestly, at this point he expected stuff like that. All in all, though, it was really, really good to have him back. Yosuke looked over at Teddie with a quiet smile.

"What?" Teddie asked, and then his blue eyes widened like saucers. "Why're you looking at me like that? You're not planning to take my bear-nnocence, are you, Yosuke? I don't like-"

Yosuke punched Teddie in the arm and narrowed his eyes. "Ted, shut up!" he seethed. Okay, maybe it was less good to have him back, especially if it was going to be _just_ like the old days, being embarrassed at every turn. "Damn, I was actually thinking how nice it was to have you back for a little while, but if you're gonna do that..."

With a dramatic pout, Teddie rubbed his arm where Yosuke had hit and whined. "Owwww, Yosuke that hurt!" he made a face.

Rolling his eyes, Yosuke leaned back against the wall again. "Yeah well, don't say stupid things and I won't have to hit you as much." That was his simple explanation, and all that was probably needed.

When his cell phone beeped, Teddie's dramatic frown faded as quickly as it appeared, and he looked at his phone with a serious expression. "Did I tell you that Noue-Noue agreed to take me on as a client?"

At first, Yosuke was confused by who in the world Teddie was talking about, but when he thought about it fot a few seconds, he remembered that Rise's manager's name was something-or-other-Inoue. That was probably it. But the silly nicknames hadn't stopped. Of course they hadn't. If Yosuke was honest with himself, he was glad they hadn't. "Noue-Noue?" It wasn't a question of who Teddie meant, more of a question of where the hell he'd come up with that nickname.

With a nod and a smile, Teddie typed a responding message and spoke. "He said that even if I wasn't working with Rise, he didn't want to see me go to some shark. I tried to tell him that a bear could kick a shark's butt, but he didn't understand." He hit send on the message and turned to look at Yosuke again.

It took all the strength that Yosuke had not to physically smack his forehead. "You really just walk around telling everyone you're a bear still?" It was some kind of miracle that he hadn't been locked up in a nut house or something.

"Noue-Noue thinks it's a 'hook,'" Teddie explained. "I told him that bears don't need hooks to catch fish, but he just laughed and told me that I should keep saying stuff like that."

Honestly, this was giving Yosuke a headache. He supposed that the celebrity world was a weird place and that weirdness like Teddie's was endearing to people, but honestly, it was just weird to Yosuke. Probably because he and Teddie had been roommates for so long. "Well, it's good that you're fitting in, I guess."

With that, Teddie went uncharacteristically quiet. With a far-off and pensive expression, he sighed a little bit. "I guess..." he murmured.

The last time he'd seen Teddie so down was when Nanako had almost died, and Yosuke had to admit, it was weird. "What's the matter? Too many bee stings going for that honey?" he asked, trying to lighten the air with a joke at Teddie's expense again.

Teddie looked up and hummed thoughtfully, then shrugged, and Yosuke found himself worrying a little bit more. "No. It's just gonna be tough without Rise..." he mumbled arbitrarily.

Without Rise? Yosuke paused and then thought for a second, and he realized that Teddie meant acting. Or whatever he and Inoue-san had planned for him. "Why do you say that?" Yosuke asked.

"Because I got into this whole thing because of her. I wanted to be there with her. And yeah, I love it now, and I'm good at it, but Rise coached me and taught me what to say to people on set and stuff," Teddie explained, scratching the back of his neck. "I know that I need to learn to do it by myself, but I'm beary worried that I'll screw it up and people will think I've lost my marbles."

Humming thoughtfully, Yosuke idly found himself wondering if all of the remarks he'd made over the years about Teddie's weirdness had contributed to that worry. "I dunno, Ted. You said Inoue-san called it a hook, right? So if it'll make people like it, I can't see that happening. The agency'd never let it, I don't think." Sure, he didn't know a lot about "the agency," but they clung to things that were successful, right?

"So you don't think my 'special brand of weird' is troublesome anymore?" Teddie asked, looking at Yosuke hopefully.

Yosuke snorted a laugh and shrugged. "For me? Yeah. For you in this case? Probably not. For some reason, people find it charming."

Teddie paused for a second. "What about Rise?" he asked.

Arching an eyebrow, Yosuke tilted his head to the side, wondering exactly what Teddie was talking about. "What _about_ Rise? Didn't think this had to do with Rise..." he mused.

With a nod and a sigh, Teddie frowned. Serious, surprisingly mature Teddie was back again, and it was still as weird as it had ever been. "A couple of days before Leia's wedding, before we met up with you and Jude to go, one of Rise's fans stopped me and told me that she was only with me because it was easy," he mused bitterly.

Ah. Yeah, romance in the public eye was probably tough in that way. People saw everything you did and privacy was probably a little harder to come by. Yosuke remembered when Rise had been kidnapped and taken into the TV world, how everyone was on her case and in her face, and he wondered how in the hell Teddie, of all people, was putting up with that scrutiny. Teddie had a constant need to be liked by everyone he knew. Sure, there was the fact that sometimes he thick-skinned it and pretended that it didn't bother him, but Yosuke knew that a lot of that was smoke and mirrors. Deflection. Teddie used to get upset and asked questions about what people had said when they'd commented less-than-kindly on some of his weirder traits. Yosuke wondered if that still happened, and how Rise handled it.

"Did you ask Rise about it?" Yosuke asked. It was a roundabout way to get an answer, but if it worked, it worked.

Teddie nodded his head yes. "She told me not to worry about it, but I do..." He chewed on his lip. "I wonder if it really is easy, too. To be with me when I still don't know who I am." His eyes were solidly down now, staring at his shoes.

Yosuke shrugged his shoulders. "See? So whoever that was, they had no clue what they were talking about. I mean, you don't know if it's easy or not... the only one who really does know is Rise. But what's so bad about it being easy?" Easy wasn't a bad thing. Hard wasn't a bad thing either. He and Jude fell somewhere comfortably in the middle most times. They had easy times and hard times, and were happy as long as they were together.

"I don't know." The answer was short, but then Teddie shrugged and continued. "I get beary worried sometimes. I know Rise wants a family someday. Kids, pets, a big house, a white picket fence..." He looked back up at Yosuke anxiously.

Teddie stopped there, like he thought maybe that was enough of an explanation for Yosuke, but it wasn't. Did Teddie not want those things? The way he played with Nanako suggested that he would be good with kids, and he loved Rise, didn't he? So, what was there to question?

With an urging nod, Yosuke shrugged his shoulders. "And?"

Chewing on his lip, Teddie shrugged. "Well, I don't know if I can..." he muttered. "We don't..." He paused, and lowered his voice. "We don't know what's going on inside me. What I am. We don't know if I can... you know... give Rise the kids she wants."

Admittedly, Yosuke's first thought was 'who in the hell gave Teddie The Talk?' Was it his parents? That might have been a little more than Yosuke could entertain at the moment. Was it Rise? Did this mean that they were already _active_? They'd been together for a long time, so it only made sense... as weird as it was. The hundred thousand questions that spun around in Yosuke's head almost spilled out, but he knew that there was a time and a place for that, and this wasn't it.

It wasn't like Teddie to be embarrassed by conversation, he had practically no shame, after all. But Yosuke couldn't help but notice that his cheeks were bright red. The worry about not being able to give Rise the life she wanted was obviously a big deal for him. Understandably so, honestly, because he was right. They still didn't know what he was, really. Souji had promised to help Teddie find it, but then promptly disappeared. He knew that Jude and Naoto had looked into the matter a few times for him, but as far as Yosuke knew, they hadn't made any progress.

But so what? Maybe they didn't know a whole lot about him, but that didn't mean they didn't know anything. "Well, we know that you can eat a lot, but you do eventually get full. You get tired. You can feel happy, sad, scared," he shrugged his shoulders. "Dude, you've been just about as human as the rest of us for a long time." It seemed obvious enough to Yosuke.

That didn't seem to placate Teddie, though. He frowned. "How do you know?" he asked.

"I don't." It was a simple enough answer, but at the same time it wasn't really simple at all.

Teddie frowned. "I'm starting to wonder if we'll ever figure anything out about me." He leaned back against the wall and slumped his shoulders.

Yosuke shrugged. "Who says we have to?" he asked, and Teddie looked back at him with irritation. Yosuke could understand Teddie's frustration. Of course he could. If he didn't know what he was, if he was human or a shadow or whatever... it would drive him crazy. But it really didn't matter. "You're you, man. Ted. Bottomless-pit, inappropriate-joke-making, friendly and loyal Ted. What else do you need to be?"

After a few seconds of silence, Teddie chewed on his lip and then looked at Yosuke. "But what if-"

Cutting him off with a hand in the air, Yosuke shook his head no. "What if nothing. If you find out that the two of you can't have kids, you can adopt kids. Think of the kids in the system like Ken and Elize, who want a home, you know?" It still hurt Yosuke to think that no one seemed to want to adopt the pair of them, just because they were older, honestly. There were definitely kids out there in the same position.

That seemed to take Teddie by surprise, and he blinked a couple of times, looking at Yosuke with blue eyes wide. "You think so? You think I could... I mean, if I can't..." A little bit of his classic Teddie smile came back to his face. "You think I could raise a couple of bear cubs?"

A bear pun was a good sign that Teddie was feeling Teddie-like again, and Yosuke smiled as he nodded along with Teddie's question. "Why not? You're great with Nanako-chan, so it makes sense." He shrugged.

"Do you think Rise wants to? With me?"

What was it with all of his friends and being so insecure in their relationships? Not that Yosuke didn't understand. There used to be times that he was sure that Jude deserved so much better than whast he could give. There were still times that he felt that way, too... granted not nearly as many as there used to be. Jude would always make him feel better about moments like that when they came up, and he had to assume that Rise would do the same for Teddie. But for now, Yosuke would encourage him.

He shrugged and gave a questioning half-smile. "If the way she refused to work on the show without you there is an indication? I think she wants to. With you." He ran a hand through his hair. "I think she's happy, Ted. And I don't think she's in a _rush_ for kids? But I don't think she'd be against having them with you someday down the road. Or adopting them. Whichever. But you should talk to her about it sometime. She likes honesty." She always had.

Teddie hummed thoughtfully. "It doesn't really matter if I don't know what I am..." he muttered thoughtfully. "Because I have Rise and you and Jude and the others, and I have everything that a regular person does, right? So even if I'm not a person, I'm the same as a person." He let a smile spread across his face. "I'm the same as... people."

The familiar expression that Yosuke had gotten used to spread across Teddie's face, except far more animated than any other expression he'd seen before. His eyes doubled in size, and he looked up at the sky like someone was calling his name from up there. He looked back down at Yosuke, then back up at the sky again, then back down at Yosuke once more. It was definitely an expected Teddie reaction. Maybe a little bit of an overreaction. And for Teddie, that was saying something.

"Wh-whaaaaat?" Teddie called out in shock, garnering more than a little bit of attention from the people around them. "What was _that_? Did you see?"

Shaking his head no, Yosuke shrugged his shoulders. "I didn't, but I bet I know what happened. How does your persona feel?" he asked. An odd question, and Yosuke suddenly found himself glad that all the people around them were looking away from Teddie's overreaction and going back to their everyday business.

Teddie's eyes were still wide, but he arched an eyebrow inquisitively at Yosuke. "My persona? It... was that what that was?" He paused and thought about it for a few seconds, before nodding and saying, "it _does_ feel different! Like I powered up to the _max_!" His face was beaming now. "Do you think that it means that me doubting myself was holding me back? There was some stuff like that with Souji back when all that stuff happened a bazillion years ago, but it wasn't super strong like this!"

So, not only was he gaining power of his own and helping his friends gain power for _them_ selves, but the power they were gaining with him was different than the power they gained with Souji? As if hearing the non-verbal cue from Yosuke's internal question, the all-too-familiar voice rang in his head, telling him that he'd solidified his bond with Teddie, and that he now had access to Helel, the ultimate form of the Star arcana. It wasn't an answer, but he'd make a point to ask. At some point. To be honest, though, he had to wonder if the Velvet Room people would even tell him. They hadn't really been forthcoming about anything else, had they?

He shook himself out of his swirl of question, and turned to look at Teddie with a grin. "I think so," he mused. "That's what's happened with some of the others."

"What's going on?" Rise's voice carried across a few feet of open space and snapped Teddie and Yosuke from their conversation. She approached with Naoto, Kanji, Chie and Yukiko from the sidewalk a few feet away, and looked at them with a big beaming, albeit somewhat inquisitive smile. "I can't remember the last time I saw Teddie with a smile like that on his face, but I'm pretty sure that it meant trouble."

Yosuke laughed and watched the group of them continue their approach. "Just having a little guy talk, right Ted?" he smirked at Teddie knowingly.

Teddie's smile was equal parts self-satisfied and grateful for Yosuke's ability to keep a secret. God knows if it had been the other way around, the whole group would know by now. But Teddie nodded at Rise, and smiled. "Mmhmm. I promise I'll tell you later."

 _Well, that'll be an interesting conversation..._ Yosuke thought, while he turned to look at the rest of the group. "Where's Jude, Ken and Elize?" he asked.

Almost immediately, Rise's voice washed over with concern, and she bit her lip. "I think he said that he's picking Elly and Ken up at their foster mom's on his way here. He didn't sound quite right when I talked to him, though. Sounded like something was wrong..." She looked up at Yosuke as she walked over to stand beside Teddie.

He didn't sound quite right? Yosuke thought about that for a moment. Generally, when he was working, he sounded pretty miserable. That was what his job did to him, after all. It must have been something like that, Yosuke resolved, before Chie spoke up and busted that thought to a hundred thousand pieces.

"Wonder if he got a message from Souji and Adachi, too..." she wondered aloud.

Yosuke frowed. How had he not entertained that possibility before? The rest of them had gotten something. It made sense that Jude, Ken and Elize would get something, too, didn't it? Or maybe Souji and Adachi ignored them because they were too young. He had to let himself hope for that for a second, because Jude was easily more equipped to deal with that kind of torment than they were.

Naoto placed a hand on Yosuke's shoulder. "They'll be alright." Her tone was quiet, like she knew that it was more or less just something she was supposed to say, and that it didn't help comfort Yosuke, really.

Yosuke reached into his pocket and looked over the texts that he and Jude had sent to one another that day, but as soon as he opened his phone, he frowned. The last one had been four hours ago at the end of Yosuke's second break; Yosuke telling Jude "I love you," and that they'd meet up at Junes when he got out of work, which meant that he should be getting there any minute now, really. He hadn't seemed too "off" via text, but that was the thing about text messages. While Yosuke could usually tell that there was something wrong over text, Jude had seemed somewhat normal.

"When'd you talk to Jude, Rise?" he asked her.

Rise hummed thoughtfully and took her own phone out. "Um... two hours ago? During his last break. Why?" she asked, putting her phone back into her pocket.

Biting his lip, Yosuke shrugged. "When I was texting him earlier, he didn't sound off. So whatever happened must've happened between our last text and when he called you." It shouldn't have been a big deal, but it was.

"Elly called me, too," Rise pointed out. "She seemed really upset about something."

The rest of the group started talking about what messages Souji and Adachi could have given to their three newest members, but Yosuke couldn't focus on the conversation. He was worried about more than messages. The messages were a small pain compared to the worry of what could have possibly happened _to_ them. After all that Adachi had put Jude through, he didn't put it past the pair of them to toss one Jude, Ken or Elize into the TV again. Or maybe even worse. Worry bubbled in the pit of his stomach, and he looked up in the direction that they'd be coming from.

Relief flooded over him when he saw Jude's figure appearing over the small hill, with Ken and Elize at either side of him. Without a word, he pushed through the rest of his friends and walked toward his boyfriend's familiar silhouette. As he got closer, he noticed that Jude was carrying a small bag, and then Ken was carrying two pieces of some kind of paper in his hands.

But he'd worry about that later. Jude greeted him when he got into earshot, but Yosuke didn't care. Relieved, he wrapped his arms around Jude and pulled him close. Maybe it'd been kind of irrational to worry like he had. Maybe it'd been all over nothing. But that didn't change that it was there.

"I'm glad to see you guys," he muttered to the three of them, even though he refused to let go of Jude.

Jude wrapped one arm around him and hugged him tightly in return. "I'm glad to see you too," he told Yosuke in a quiet voice. "R-really glad..." He stumbled a little bit.

Yosuke finally released Jude from the hug, but kept both hands on his shoulders. _His face._ The last time he saw that face was when they'd met up with Jude's dad after leaving Kanji's mother's house. "Jude?"

"I'm..." Jude breathed a sigh, then motioned to the bag in his hand. "This. Ken and Elize have something, too. But... not at the food court, please."

Elize nodded. "Is there somewhere else here we can go?" She looked up at Yosuke with hopeful eyes.

With a glance over his shoulder, Yosuke realized that the rest of the group was approaching from behind, and they were all wearing inquisitive and concerned expressions. Yosuke supposed that it must have looked a little worrisome, the four of them standing there like they were, but he couldn't help it. He nodded, then looked over his shoulder to beckon to everyone else. "We can go to the employee parking lot," he explained, grabbing Jude by the hand.

He probably should have been more concerned with who saw them holding hands, but the dismal look on Jude's face wouldn't let him be. Not this time.


	11. Moon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I changed Ken's arcana, because I didn't really feel that Justice fit him in this particular series. Moon seemed more appropriate to me!

**March 25th, 2016**

When Ken read the note Souji and Adachi had left for he and Elize in his locker, the troubled feeling in the area magnified by about a thousand. _You haven't done anything to us, personally,_ the note said, _you're just kids who fell in with the wrong crowd. We're going to give you one chance to step away. If you do, we won't bother you ever again._

Elize's face was angry as Ken read the note and she looked at Yosuke. "Like they actually expect us to do it. Like we'd ever just walk away after everything they did to you guys. After they threw us in there like they did!" She rolled her eyes. "They're dumber than they think _we_ are, if they think that'll ever happen." She snorted a laugh.

Admittedly, a tiny part of Yosuke wanted to tell her to do what the note said. But where would they be now if they'd actually listened to someone who had told them to mind their own business back in the day? Well... a few injuries shorter and a few mental scars shorter, but that was beside the point. They wouldn't be together, and he wouldn't have had all of these amazing people in his life. Or maybe he would have, but it would have been a lot harder to get as close to them as he had.

"They're demented," Ken narrowed his eyes. "Step away. Have they lost their minds?"

Naoto chewed on her lip and shrugged. "I think that, by their extremely skewed standards, they haven't." She extended her hand for the note, taking it and looking it over once Ken offered it out to her. "This is Souji's handwriting. I'm not sure what it means, but there are no hints of Adachi anywhere on this note." She flipped it over and examined the back, just to ensure that the statement was true.

The circle was silent after that, and it was Chie that finally broke the silence. "I wonder if that means anything..." she muttered.

Yosuke turned his head to look at Jude, who was sitting next to him silently, with the bag which inevitably held his "gift" on the ground in front of him. He hadn't said much. He'd made a couple of comments when directly spoken to, but otherwise... _whatever's in that bag must be really bothering him..._ Yosuke thought. Admittedly, a couple of times, he'd been tempted to just grab the bag and look inside. His impatience had managed not to get the better of him, though.

The bag wasn't all that suspicious, as far as ominous gift bags went. It looked like a normal gift bag, aside from the tag. At the angle Yosuke was sitting, he could clearly make the words "To: Mathis. You know who it's from," written in Souji's familiar handwriting. Souji's vendetta against Jude popped into Yosuke's mind, and it worried him.

"What about Jude?" Yosuke pointed out. Yeah, the letter to the kids was important, but Jude's expression and silence was worrisome.

Jude looked down at the gift bag and shrugged a shoulder, before passing it off to Yosuke. "It's... it's not that bad." The tone of his voice and the words coming out mismatched.

At first glance, the contents looked like mostly torn paper, but when he inspected it closer, he realized that they were torn pieces of a photograph. _Do I even want to know...?_ he asked himself, before reaching a hand into the bag and picking up several bits of the picture and examining them. Even before closely inspecting them, he felt an angry lump forming in his stomach. On the back of each individual piece of paper, words like "fake" and "second choice" were written in familiar handwriting. The words Souji had always spat at Jude in their encounters. But as Yosuke flipped over a few pieces of photo, he realized exactly how much of a taunt the gift was. The torn photo was of the group from back in high school, at the summer festival after they'd put Souji in jail. Yosuke recognized it, because it had hung on the wall in their apartment for so long. It was before they met Ken and Elize, but somehow, that made the message even clearer.

"It's... the picture from the 2012 summer festival. There's the green sling Chie wore after her arm got broken in the TV." Yosuke paused, and bit his lip. "But they... he... Souji wrote on the back of it."

Rise's irritation showed plainly on her face when she took a few pieces of the thick paper. "What the... this is... how _could_ he?" She could barely form the sentence she needed.

"Wasn't this hanging in your apartment?" Naoto's question was the most pointed one. Yosuke had thought of that himself, but he'd been more concerned about what this meant to Jude, so it had easily slipped his mind. "This means that they went to your apartment to either look for you, or look for something to taunt Jude with. But..."

Kanji shook his head. "They sent Yosuke something at the inn, so it must've been they were looking for something to send Jude," he turned to look at Jude.

"Are you okay, Jude?" Ken asked.

Jude shrugged a shoulder. "They took me totally out of the picture before they ripped it. I looked." He glanced at the bag in Yosuke's hands. "There's no sign that I was even in the picture with you guys. But... but there's more in there, too." He looked up at Yosuke now.

Sure enough, as Yosuke reached into the bottom of the bag, he was dismayed to find the headphones that he'd bought _Jude_. Buying matching pairs of headphones was something of a show of love for Yosuke. It was weird, maybe, but Jude seemed to like it, and that was what mattered. The purple headphones were broken into pieces. The cord was missing, and the three pieces were snapped the exact same way that Souji's had been. But wait... Jude had worn those a couple of times since they'd gone to the inn, hadn't he? So how...

"I think they got into my locker at work," Jude frowned, answering Yosuke's unasked question. "Because I have those with me every day, so I can listen to music during my break. I'm sorry. I know they match the ones you use and I-"

Jude was looking at Yosuke with apologetic eyes, but honestly, Yosuke didn't care about the headphones at all right now. He dropped the bag to the ground and shook his head, pulling Jude into his arms and hugging him tight. "I don't care. I mean, I care. I obviously care. But I care more that you're okay. Are you?"

Everyone was watching them, but Yosuke didn't care. If Jude used them every day, then they had to have gotten them from his locker _that day_. Meaning that they'd been at the hospital that day, close enough to Jude to take these from his locker. Yosuke's heart hit the pit of his stomach, and he hugged Jude even tighter.

"I'm... yeah, I'm alright." Jude's voice didn't sound convincing.

Rise put her hand supportively on Jude's back and over Jude's shoulder, Yosuke could see the sad smile on her face. "I have a copy of that picture that you can have," she told him. "You can even have the original, and I'll just make a copy."

With a nod, Naoto grabbed the bag and put it behind her. Out of sight, out of mind, must have been her logic. Or maybe she was going to take it as some kind of evidence? "And you're absolutely not second rate, or a fake. You know that, right?" She, in a surprising gesture of friendly affection, put a hand on his arm.

"No way!" Chie agreed.

Kanji snorted a laugh. "If you even needed us to tell you that, you're not as smart as I thought you were," he pointed out, but there was no bite in his words at all.

From the tight hug, Yosuke could feel Jude's lips turning into a weak smile. "Thanks, guys," Jude muttered into Yosuke's shoulder, pulling back from the hug and looking Yosuke in the eye. "Really." He turned and looked at the rest of the group with a little smile. "I know I'm not second rate, and I do know, deep down, that I'm not just a back up. It's just," he sighed, "it's just, having it thrown at you like that, you know? By someone who used to be important to all of you... it hurts."

Ken nodded his head. "It does. The letter that he sent to Elly and me made us feel like we weren't a part of the group." He glanced back down at the letter.

"Yeah!" Elize nodded her head. "Like, we had just as much to do with putting Adachi in jail as you guys did, so why does he wanna let us off free, and keep being so mean to you guys?"

Elize seemed abnormally fired up about this. At first, Yosuke thought that it was because of the note. But there was obviously something else on her mind, too. He turned to look at her, waiting for a second before clearing his throat and saying, "you alright, Elize? You seem a little angry. Is it just because of the note?"

She balked for a second, then looked around the group. Her eyes landed on Ken and she swallowed thickly. The pair exchanged a couple seconds of quiet communication, and when Ken nodded at her, she breathed a heavy sigh and pressed her lips together for a few seconds.

"It's my birthday today." Her voice was quiet when she spoke up.

Every single face in the circle, with the exception of Ken's, went completely shocked. Yosuke found himself flipping his phone open to confirm the date, and then the shock faded into guilt. March 25th. It was, indeed, Elize's birthday. And not only had he forgotten, but the rest of the group seemed to have, too.

"Elly! I'm so sorry!" Rise's voice was the loudest as she reached out and pulled Elize into a hug.

Elize shook her head no. "It's okay. I'm not... I'm not mad at _you_ guys. I know that you've got a ton of stuff on your minds. And I know that Yosuke and Jude have this big calendar at home with all the important dates written on it but they're not at home right now so, I und-"

Yosuke shook his head no. "No, that's not an excuse," he looked at her in solemn apology.

But Elize still didn't look angry. "But I'm not mad at you guys for it. I'm really not!" she insisted. "I'm... I'm mad at..." She trailed off, then looked at Ken for support.

"Kei-sama forgot, too. Elly's teacher remembered, but I think I was the only other one..." Ken explained sadly.

It felt like guilt was punching Yosuke in the gut, and from the look on Jude's face, it looked like he felt just as guilty. "Well, how about this," Jude suggested. "After we go in the TV, we'll take you guys to the electronics section and the clothing section, and have a little birthday shopping spree for Elize, and then go back to the inn and I'll make you a cake. Yukiko, do you mind if I use the-"

Yukiko shook her head before Jude even finished his sentence. "Of course I don't. I'll reserve one of the banquet halls and invite some of the staff, too." She smiled wide.

Elize's eyes were wide as she looked from Jude to Yukiko, and then to Ken, who gave her a little bit of a grin. "R-really?" she asked, turning her head to look at Jude.

It seemed as though Jude's anxieties about being a second choice, or whatever Souji had said, were gone. At the very least, they were pushed into the back of his mind, and Yosuke planned to deal with them properly later. But for right now, doing something for the others, for Elize, seemed to be distracting him enough for the time being. As the group of them headed inside, toward the electronics section, he chatted with Elize about what kind of cake she liked, what she wanted to buy for her birthday ( _"anything you want, Elize. Don't worry about it."_ ), and Yosuke walked up to Ken with an embarrassed half-smile.

"I'm sorry. Really." Yosuke would apologize to Elize later, but with how close Ken and Elize were, he felt like he owed Ken an apology, too.

Ken shook his head and smiled a little bit. "It's okay. We didn't really make a big deal of pointing out that her birthday was coming up, either, because we knew that all of you had much more important things to worry about." There was maturity on his face, sure, but it didn't quite mask the sadness underneath.

And Yosuke didn't want him to have to have to deal with it alone. He gave Ken a serious look and shook his head no. "If it bothers you two, it's important to us, Ken. You're family," he said.

The word family, though, seemed to upset Ken. He looked down and shrugged his shoulders. "No, I'm not. I don't have a family. Not really." For the first time since they'd met, Ken actually looked his age. Actually, he looked younger. Like a little boy. Dejected and sad, like someone had taken away his favorite thing.

But the reality of the situation was that he'd never actually had it. Or maybe he had. They'd never really asked about Ken's parents. Bringing them up always seemed to make him uncomfortable. "Why do you say that?" he asked.

No, he wasn't going to tell Ken that he was wrong. If it was how he felt, then it was how he felt. Yosuke was just a little bit surprised to learn that he felt that way. Even though he'd said it, though, there was something behind the words. His expression told more than his words did. He didn't mean it. Not really. Ken, Yosuke had learned, was a very guarded boy. It made sense. As an orphan, he probably had to be guarded, or he'd be hurt a lot. But with the rest of the team... Yosuke didn't want him to feel like he had to protect himself like that.

"I'm not sure..." Ken started. "I mean, I know that I can count on you guys, but I've just never really had a family since..." He stopped himself short, and looked up at Yosuke nervously.

Part of Yosuke wasn't sure if he should push or not, but the rest of him knew that if he _didn't_ push, Ken would never really open up on his own. He was hesitant, but eventually he said, "it's okay, Ken. If you want to, you can talk to me," with a warm smile. "Only if you want to, though. Don't feel like you have to."

Ken seemed to be turning the words over in his head, but eventually, he looked at Yosuke with a nod. "My mom died. When I was eight," he explained. "I didn't know my dad ever. But my mom and I lived in this nice apartment a few miles away from the middle school." He heaved a deep sigh. "Mom didn't really get along with her family really well, so when she got sick, no one would take care of her. I had to do it." He looked up at Yosuke with a shrug. "I didn't mind though. It was just... it was harder when she died. It was just me and my mom's best friend at the funeral, and her best friend was supposed to take care of me after she died, too."

The expression on Ken's face was trained. Like he'd told people this story enough times to keep it from making him cry. Still, he could see the sadness behind the expression. He could also tell that there was more to the story, but he didn't want to ask; he wanted to let Ken continue at his own pace.

"Mom's friend must not have been ready to take care of me. She ran. I was at her house alone for two days after the funeral, and she called me and told me that a social worker for the state was coming to take me into foster care. And I've been there ever since."

Everyone else was in the store now, but somehow, while he and Ken talked, they'd ended up hanging back away from the rest of the group. Yosuke knew that everyone else would probably worry, but he didn't care. He turned his eyes up to look at Ken, marveling inwardly at how, at fifteen, Ken was about half a head taller than Yosuke was now. Definitely night and day from where he'd been when they first met. "Have you been in the same home since?" he asked.

Ken shook his head no. "There was one before Kei-sama's house, but the woman taking care of me got in trouble for using the money she got to take care of us for herself. I moved in with Kei-sama when I was ten. And that's when I met Elly. She's been the only family I've had for a long time," he explained.

Shaking his head no, Yosuke grabbed Ken's shoulders and looked him square in the eye. "No," he insisted. "No, that's not true. We may not be related to you by blood, but you and Elize are part of our family." He squeezed Ken's shoulders with his hands and let his arms fall to his sides.

"I just... I know you care about us, but it's..." Ken swallowed nervously and looked up at Yosuke. "I'm... everyone who's ever been family to me has left me. It's hard enough, being afraid that Elly might leave me some day, but you guys too?"

Guarded. Afraid. Forced solitude. Ken really did remind him of the way Jude had been in high school. Yosuke shook his head no. "Ken, we won't leave you. We won't. I know that we're in dangerous situations a lot, but we all protect each other, right? You protect us, we protect you. Isn't that what family is?" The tone in his voice was soft, trying to comfort Ken.

And he'd be lying if he tried to claim that it was the first time that filing guardianship papers for Ken and Elize had entered his mind. He didn't entertain it seriously, because he was sure that the courts wouldn't allow someone like him to adopt two teenagers, but he wished that he could try. They were still kids, if only for a short time. He wanted to give them the real feel of family for the last few years of their childhood. A small part of him wondered what Jude would think of the idea. Whatever decision came of this directly affected Jude, too. He couldn't see Jude _not_ being on board with the idea, but that nagging fear of the courts telling him no that restrained him. And it wasn't fair to Ken and Elize to get them excited over something that just wasn't possible.

"It is..." Ken muttered.

Yosuke nodded. "You're like the little brother that most of us never had," he offered.

Ken hummed thoughtfully. "Little brother..." he repeated in his head.

"And if any of us have a say in the matter, you'll never be alone. You're our _family_ , Ken. You and Elize both." Yosuke paused and waved a hand in Ken's face, when he noticed his eyes on the ground. "Hey. You are. We love you. You know that, right?"

It seemed like Ken hadn't heard someone say those words in a long time, because within the next second, Yosuke felt Ken's arms fling around his neck and pull him in for a grateful hug. "I'm sorry I said we weren't family," Ken mumble-sobbed over Yosuke's shoulder. "You're right. W-we are family. All of us. You and me and Elly and Jude and Rise and Teddie and everyone else. We're family. I was just... I was just scared that..." he trailed off.

But he didn't need to finish. "Scared that we'd leave you behind. We won't. I'm not really afraid to speak for the others, because I know they feel the same way. We won't. Not if we can help it, alright?" Yosuke reassured Ken as he reciprocated the hug. It didn't occur to him that he was making a kind of hefty promise, but they always protected each other. He had to believe that would continue.

Ken pulled back from the hug, sniffled and wiped his nose on his coat sleeve. An unexpectedly childish action from someone as mature as Ken usually was, but maybe sometimes, all a kid needed was to be told that it was okay to be a kid. Even as he did that, though, Yosuke could see the gears turning in his head. He was still thinking about what Yosuke had said, and in an instant, it was like realization dawned on him. Ken's eyes turned to the sky, and he blinked a couple of times, before reaching up to wipe his eyes with the sides of his hands.

"I-is that what Kanji said happened to him the other day? And Rise and Naoto and the others?" he asked. "Persona evolution? That was... it was like a strong power came over me, and then my persona told me it learned something new. That was amazing!"

Yosuke couldn't help but smile at how Ken was smiling through his tears. He looked pleased, proud, satisfied... which was a far cry from the look he had been wearing, This whole 'helping his friends' thing was a pretty amazing feeling, honestly. Even without the persona evolutions, and the personas that he got from the help he gave, from the ear he lent, he felt pretty good being able to take care of the people he loved. A small part of him wondered if Souji ever felt this way, but he shook it off and gave Ken a little smile.

"Something like that," Yosuke chuckled a little bit, talking over Margaret's voice telling him that he'd strengthened his bond with Ken, and could now create Sandalphon, the ultimate form of the moon arcana. It was getting a little easier to ignore that voice every time.

Ken smiled softly and looked at the floor for a couple of seconds, before looking up at Yosuke. "Thanks, by the way. I think I'd felt like we were a family for awhile now, but... no one had really said it, so I was kind of... I wasn't sure." The maturity was back in his voice again, but there was far more openness there now, too.

Yosuke clapped Ken on the shoulder and smiled warmly. "Hey," he smirked, "family reassures each other."

It wasn't until the Junes automatic doors opened and Elize looked out at the pair of them with surprise in her eyes that Yosuke realized that in front of Junes _likely_ wasn't the best place to have this conversation. Especially not with Ken's eyes being slightly tearful still. She looked from Ken to Yosuke and blinked a couple of times, before turning over her shoulder to glance at Jude, who was at the bottom of the stairs. Stepping completely out the door, she turned her full attention to Ken.

"Are you guys okay?" she asked in surprise.

Yosuke nodded and gave her a slightly embarrassed smile. "We're probably holding the group up a little bit, aren't we?" he asked with an embarrassed smile. "Sorry, we were just chatting and got carried away a little."

She looked from Ken to Yosuke and nodded, but then looked back and Ken and blinked a couple times. "Were you crying, Ken? Did something happen?" Concern lined her features, and she reached into her school bag for a piece of pink cloth to hand to Ken.

With a soft, awkward laugh, Ken nodded and took the cloth from her to wipe his eyes a little better than his hand had. "Yeah, I was," he mumbled with a nervous smile. "I'm okay, though. Yosuke and I were just talking and stuff, but I'm okay. Really. I'll tell you all about it later, Elly, I promise." He handed the cloth back to her.

Turning her head to look at Yosuke, she bit her lip. Her eyes were expectant, like she wanted Yosuke to tell her what had made Ken cry, but Yosuke realized that this was probably one of those things that was better for Ken to say himself, so he just gave her a reassuring smile and put a hand on her shoulder.

"It's alright, Elize. Promise." He smiled warmly at her.

Though Elize still looked somewhat concerned, she took Yosuke's reassurance for what it was and nodded her head. "Alright. Let's go. Jude's waiting at the bottom of the stairs and I think Rise and the others are gonna wait outside the electronics section so that people don't think we're doing anything weird." She pushed some hair behind her ear and smiled.

Yosuke caught Jude's eye through Junes' sliding glass door and smiled a little bit. Jude's expression was curious, and he was sure that they'd end up talking about things later, too, but that was okay. For now, into the TV, and then the rest of the afternoon was about Elize. She more than deserved it.


	12. Sun

**March 25th, 2016**

Yosuke had spent what seemed like an hour in the Velvet Room, putting together the personas that he'd gotten from his friends, and he was extremely surprised by the variety of skills he'd picked up. Some light, some darkness, some electricity, even _physical_ attacks weren't outside of his arsenal now. Sure, he could only carry a few of them with him at once, but having those bases covered, having his weaknesses covered, was an interesting concept. Maybe that was why Souji had gone insane. Too much power at someone's fingertips had the potential to drive anyone crazy, didn't it? While he had a quiet moment, Yosuke silently vowed to himself not to go down that path; not to let that power go to his head.

When he exited the Velvet Room, he was amazed to discover that no time had passed. Yeah, Margaret and Igor had mentioned that it was "between dream and reality, mind and matter," but had they mentioned anything about timelessness? He couldn't remember.

Rise had directed the group of them toward the labyrinth they'd apprehended Adachi from a year ago. She mentioned that there were some shadow readings from there, and pointed out that it would be a good place to train. The unpleasantly familiar place made Yosuke's stomach twist, but he tried not to let it show. As uncomfortable as he was, Jude was probably feeling worse. Whatever the rest of them had been through here, Jude had almost died. Every now and then, he would pause to keep an eye on Jude as they made their way there, to make sure that he was still okay. He was, it seemed. A little uncomfortable, and a little on edge, but on edge was good inside the TV. It was better than being unguarded and getting hurt because of it. He seemed relatively calm, though, all things considered. Calmer than Yosuke probably would have been, in his shoes. Calmer than Yosuke _had_ been in his shoes, back in Madomai, so many years ago.

Training had been a very good idea. A years worth of rust had very much needed shaking off, and as much as holding his knives in his hands was a familiar and pleasant feeling... the ability to switch personas was _un_ familiar, and a little bit jarring at first. It felt almost like changing a part of his brain for a short time, and it was a bit of a shock to the system the first couple of times. Yosuke couldn't bring himself to remove Takehaya Susano-O from his arsenal; his persona had been with him through everything they'd been through, and had grown with him. It was even a little bit strange to change _away_ from his own persona, but he did when the need arose.

Yosuke's new power had even given them a chance to split up a little bit. Teddie had gone with Naoto, Kanji, Jude and Yukiko to provide them with backup, while Rise had stayed with Yosuke, Chie, Ken and Elize. Normally, they'd stay together, but Yosuke and Naoto had agreed that preparing for as many different situations as possible was a good idea. Who knew what Adachi and Souji would happen in the coming days, after all. As it turned out, the two smaller teams were pretty well-balanced. Elize wasn't taxed at all, healing a smaller group, and she seemed to be able to contribute a lot more combat-wise, too. Seeing Chie and Ken's evolved personas fighting was interesting, too, and Yosuke found a part of himself wondering how Kanji, Naoto and Yukiko's were doing.

The one downside, of course, was that he couldn't keep an eye on Jude and make sure he was safe. He trusted his boyfriend, of course, but that didn't stop him from having Rise check in on the other team from time to time, anyway. Chie seemed a little bit glad every time he did, too, for obvious reasons.

Once they'd been in the TV for a couple of hours, he could tell everyone in his group was starting to get a little bit tired. If they wanted to have any kind of energy for Elize's birthday party and shopping, they needed to get out now. With a promise that they'd go back in again soon, Yosuke asked Teddie and Rise to gather the groups at the entrance to Adachi's labyrinth, and they headed back out into Junes.

And that was when the fun began.

Elize looked completely stunned at how much the group of them was putting into giving her attention. Yosuke knew that attention like this was still relatively foreign to Ken and Elize, so getting to go on a Junes shopping spree must have been overwhelming. Each member of the group had shown their individual taste by giving Elize different things. Rise took her to the clothing section and bought her three whole new outfits. Teddie had bought her more candy than any fifteen year old really needed. Naoto had bought her a few books and magazines that she'd seemed interested in. After assuring her that there was no way that she was too old for dolls, Kanji had bought her three different cat plushes and asked her for her favorite color, so he could knit her a sweater and matching scarf. Chie and Yukiko had put their heads together and promised her a day at the spa together, with a plan to get completely and totally pampered. Jude had spotted her eyeing a silver locket in the jewelry section, and had waited until she walked away to pick it up for her and have it engraved to her. He'd also promised to give her cooking lessons, since Elize had always seemed interested in learning from him.

For Yosuke's part, he'd bought her five different sheet music books, and promised to continue the guitar lessons he'd started giving her the year before. And alongside that, he told her that when Jude and Yosuke got back to their apartment, Yosuke was going to give her the guitar he'd started teaching her on. As soon as he'd suggested that, her eyes had lit up like sparklers, and she jumped up and hugged him like she was afraid that, if she didn't, he'd take the offer back.

Yosuke and Jude had taken a moment aside, too, to talk to Ken and buy him a couple of things, just to ensure that he didn't feel completely left out. Initially, he'd protested. _"It's Elize's birthday,"_ he'd said, _"I don't need anything."_ But Jude had insisted that sticking by Elize's side and being as loyal as he had for as long as he had, had earned him a couple of gifts. They'd ended up buying him a brand new chess set, and a collapsible soccer goal so that he could practice whenever he wanted to. It was quite obviously far more money than either of them had planned to spend that day, but Elize and Ken both deserved it. Besides, they'd saved quite a bit of money on groceries that month, eating at the inn.

When the group of them piled into the inn, Yukiko led the way to one of the smaller banquet halls and turned to Elize with a smile. "I'll even let you play some music for us!" She smiled at Elize and then turned to look at Jude. "If you don't mind, I can help you bake the cake?"

Kanji and Yosuke both tried to hold back concern at Yukiko's offered assistance, but Jude agreed, and the two of them headed toward the kitchen to put the cake together. Yosuke turned his attention to Elize, who was looking at him with excitement sparkling in her eyes. "Yosuke, will you help me pick some music out?"

To say that he was surprised when she didn't choose Rise for that would have been an understatement, but he smirked and nodded his head. "Sure. Got anything in mind?"

While the others walked over to a nearby table to sit, Yosuke and Elize walked up to the large and elaborate sound system in the corner of the room. Elize looked it over and blinked a couple of times. "Uh... not really," she mused. "I just know you know music and I thought you'd be able to pick something cool." She stepped into the booth and looked around. "Plus, you've always got that MP3 player, so I thought you could hook it up and stuff." She looked up at him inquisitively.

"Wondering what kind of music I listen to?" he asked her with a little chickle.

She nodded her head. "A little. I'd've asked Rise, but I listen to a lot of Kanamin and I know it'd make her upset," she admitted bashfully.

"Ooh, smart move," Yosuke mused as he ruffled her hair affectionately. "Though I don't think she'd be too upset if there was just as much Risette on there, too."

Elize nodded emphatically. "There is! There's more, even! It just left off on a Kanamin Kitchen track, and that'd totally be what she saw." An embarrassed smile crossed her face.

Yosuke nodded his head as he reached into his pocket and pulled his MP3 player out, hooking it up to the machine. "It's our secret," he smirked at her. Not that he actually believed that Rise would be upset about that, but he'd play along.

As he hooked his MP3 player up to the equipment in front of him, he couldn't help but notice that Elize was watching him somewhat intently. He could almost see the questions bubbling under the surface, but he knew that she'd never really talk about what she was thinking of, unless he asked. Elize was less guarded than Ken, sure, but still pretty guarded.

"So, I'm sorry we almost forgot your birthday..." Yosuke told her in genuine apology, flipping through his music until he settled upon something suitable for the environment.

Shaking her head no, Elize gave an understanding smile and looked up at Yosuke. "Don't worry," she insisted. "I'm really not mad. Besides, you guys, like... spent way too much money on me today. It would've more than made up for it, even if I _was_ mad. I don't think anyone's ever done something like that for me before."

Yosuke thought about that for a moment. It wasn't the first time he'd found himself questioning how someone like Ken and Elize's foster mother was allowed to foster children. She constantly let them go out alone, even when it had been proven dangerous. She forgot their birthdays, didn't care if they spent holidays like New Years with the rest of the group, didn't care if they went to school... a woman like that had absolutely no place raising kids. He knew that Ken and Elize weren't happy, but they didn't like to talk about it too much, for understandable and obvious reasons. Still... with a little bit of encouragement...

But it seemed like that wasn't necessary. "You know, sometimes I wonder why Kei-sama even wanted to foster."

Elize's sudden comment took him completely off-guard, and he blinked a couple of times, shaking his head and trying to recover from the conversational whiplash. Maybe he shouldn't have been that surprised, though, because it seemed like Elize was generally a little bit more willing to talk to him than the others, Ken being the obvious exception. It was similar to how Ken was always a little more willing to talk to Jude. Still, she'd always been a little bit shier than she should have, so the sudden outburst took him by surprise. Not that it was an altogether bad thing.

Unwilling to squander her willingness to open up, Yosuke looked at her. "Wh-what makes you wonder that?" he asked. Like he didn't know.

And, as perceptive as ever, Elize looked at him a little bit incredulously, and with a little bit of surprise. "Because she doesn't seem to care at all what me and Ken do. She doesn't even care when our birthdays are." She shook one of her pigtails over her shoulder and frowned.

Yosuke looked at Elize in apology. He shouldn't have played dumb. "It could have been a lot of different things," he admitted. "Maybe she used to be different?" Time changed a lot of people. Their whole group was evidence of that.

Elize shrugged at that. "But a decent person would've stopped fostering like that when they didn't want kids anymore, right?" She chewed on her lip, like she was unsure of her answer. 

And honestly, Yosuke was unsure how to respond. He didn't know how fostering worked, really. _Another reason why filing for guardianship or whatever probably isn't a good idea..._ his mind reminded his heart. His heart was proving to be kind of a tough sell on the fact that it wasn't a good idea, but there were still so many hurdles that he had to jump over before he could legitimately entertain the idea. They deserved better than being ignored all the time. Deserved a home with people who would take care of them. Yosuke was about to tell her that she deserved better, too, when she looked at the ground and dropped a bomb on both his mind _and_ his heart.

"I don't know. I guess I just kind of... I never imagined that I'd spend the rest of however long living there. Thought I'd've been adopted by now." She paused, then looked back up at him. "I'd been at Kei-sama's for awhile before Ken came. I don't think I really even remember my mom and dad very well anymore."

It was like he'd been punched in the gut. She must have felt unwanted for so long. "What happened to them?" Yosuke asked, his voice a croak in his throat. God, it had been a long time since he'd felt this idiotic for something he'd said. It was like an annoying wave of nostalgia. How had this been so much easier with Ken?

Elize shrugged a shoulder and straightened out her skirt. "They were killed," she told him, a surprising numbness on her face. "At least, that's what I remember people saying. They were in the wrong place and the wrong time, and they were killed. But like, I don't remember a lot, you know? It seems like it was forever ago." She glanced up at Yosuke and chewed on her lip. "I just can't figure out why no one's adopted us yet. Me and Ken. Like, I don't think I'd want to be adopted without Ken."

How in the hell did he even answer a question like that? Was it a question? It wasn't. It seemed like she was just kind of speaking her mind and letting it all air out. That was fine, it was just a matter of what he was supposed to say to help her that was troubling.

"It's good that you two have each other."

She nodded her head. "It is. Real good. But, um... Ken told me what you said earlier." A little smile crossed her face, despite what she was talking about. "That he was your family." Her eyes shined with hope, and she bit her lip. "Me too, right?"

The question surprised Yosuke, both because of its simplicity and because of how willing she'd been to ask. Ken and Elize were pretty different, when it came down to it. It had taken prodding and reassurance to get Ken to talk to him at all, but here Elize was, asking all of her questions without being encouraged. It was good, though. And it made him smile. She trusted him. She trusted him enough to openly ask questions like that.

"Of course you too," Yosuke nodded to her, reaching out and squeezing her shoulder. "Jude feels the same, I know he does. And everyone else. We're all family. You know that."

She beamed at him with her whole face, then jumped up and hugged him around the neck. "I did know," she admitted. "I knew even before Ken did, I think. I never really felt that whole 'I don't have a family' thing anymore since we met you guys, 'cause you always look out for us and take care of us. Even back when we first met."

Yosuke hugged her back and chuckled softly. "We certainly worked on when to turn up the cute, too, didn't we?" he half-joked.

Elize laughed a little bit as she released Yosuke from the hug. After a few seconds of silent thought, she pulled in a deep sigh and spoke up again. "Hey Yosuke?" She looked up at and chewed on her lip. "Can I ask you something else?"

Yosuke nodded.

"I help, right?" she asked him. "I know Ken helps, because he's really strong and stuff. But I'm not. Not like the rest of you. I still help the group, though, don't I? When Adachi and Souji sent us that note and said we didn't do anything to them, they were just being mean and trying to get us to stop helping you. Right?"

It was honestly surprising that neither Ken or Elize had brought the note up before now. Yeah, it was a tamer taunt, compared to what the others had gotten. But it still obviously hit at the heart of one Elize's insecurities.

He put a hand on her shoulder and nodded her head. "If you've even got to ask that question," he half-smiled, "you're not giving yourself even close to enough credit. You were healing up a storm in there today, weren't you? Just because you can't blast a shadow back with a one hit like Jude, Chie and Kanji can, doesn't mean you're not tough as nails. You can totally blast a whole group into nothing with darkness or pick the rest of us up when we get knocked down. If you think that's not helpful, you're crazy." He poked her in the head, tilting her head to the side slightly.

She smirked a little bit. "So... I'm not just holding you back? I'm not just dead weight?" she asked.

The note hadn't said that, not really. So this must have been something she'd been struggling with for a little while. But Yosuke shook his head no. "Are you kidding me? Dead weight wouldn't have been so determined to help us back when you first joined the team. Remember?" he asked her. "You practically begged for both you _and_ Ken. Plus, even if you _weren't_ a tough cookie, you're enthusiastic and a little ball of sunshine, Elize. Like a calmer version of Ted," he teased.

"Like Teddie?!" she asked incredulously. Incredulous, but appeased, at the very least.

Yosuke chuckled and nodded. "Calmer. And probably a little less stuffing-brained, but yeah. Like Teddie."

She turned her head and looked back at the rest of the group. It seemed like everyonw was wondering what was going on, looking at them like they were waiting for Yosuke and Elize to get back. She turned her head back to look at Yosuke with a little smile. "But I'm _totally_ smarter than Teddie, right?" she joked.

"By a million!" Yosuke ruffled her hair and winked.

And there it was. Elize's eyes went to the sky, and she blinked a couple of times. "Is... is this..." Her jaw fell open, and she pulled in a sharp gasp. "Is this what Ken was telling me about? My persona's getting even stronger?!" Her voice cut through the music in the relatively empty banquet hall, and Yosuke found himself glad for the relative privacy that the group had. Explaining that to strangers would have been a little bit weird.

Yosuke looked at Elize with a little smirk. "I think so," he mused.

She blinked twice, then looked back at Yosuke, smiling with her whole face. "It's stronger! It's even stronger now!" she bounced up and down where she stood.

 _Asura. The ultimate form of the Sun Arcana,_ Yosuke repeated Margaret's words in his head after her voice had faded away, and he wondered if maybe he should look up what all of these different arcana meant. He'd have to look into them someday when he got the time. Maybe he'd be able to learn a little bit more about his friends that way. About what made them tick. But right now, he looked at Elize with a warm smile.

"Looks like you can do even _more_ to help us now, huh?" he told her encouragingly.

She nodded, then looked over her shoulder at Ken. "I'm gonna go tell Ken!" she told Yosuke as she turned back around and bounded back toward the table that all their friends were sitting at.

Yosuke smirked at her, but then paused when he spotted Yukiko coming back into the room by herself. It was just like Jude, Yosuke thought, to sit through the cake baking just to make sure that it was done properly. He had a little grin on his face as he put his hands into his pockets and started back toward the rest of the group. As he got closer, though, he noticed a little bit of irritation on Yukiko's face, and it made him worry. Yukiko walked past the table, and straight up to Yosuke, stopping him before he got too much closer to the table.

She pulled in a slow sigh and straightened her skirt. "Jude told me to tell you that he's heading to the hospital, and that he'd be back later this evening." Her voice was quiet.

The hospital? Yosuke blinked a couple of times, worry lining his features, but the irritation on Yukiko's face told him that, no, this wasn't a personal hospital trip. Which meant that work had called him. He'd just come from work, not even four hours ago, and they'd called him back like he was their personal plaything.

"They called him back in?" Yosuke asked, worry giving way to frustration.

Yukiko nodded her head. "Evidently, one of the younger nurses called out, and they needed him to cover until one of the other nurses can come in."

Yosuke felt his frustration boiling a little bit. Jude had worked a full shift that morning, gone into the TV a little while ago, and now he was going to cover for someone else? Just like that? That damn hospital was going to run him completely ragged.

"I think he said something about needing to take a shower and get his scrubs from your room," Yukiko pointed out, giving Yosuke a conspiratorial glance. "If you wanted to go up there and catch him before he leaves."

And that was all Yosuke needed to hear. "Tell the others I'll be back shortly. Hopefully with Jude."

He turned on his heel and headed out of the banquet hall in a hurry. Jude was reasonably quick when it came to showering. He had to assume that Yukiko would tell everyone else where he was going, and maybe why he was going there. He found himself speed-walking down the Amagi Inn's hallways, and into the nearest elevator.

No, Jude's father didn't work at the hospital, but in Yosuke's mind, there was absolutely zero doubt that he was using the same "connections" that he'd used to get Jude the job in the first place to ensure that Jude was run completely ragged by his work. It was further proof that Jude's father's wants were definitely _not_ what was best for Jude. What he needed to do now was use the time he had alone in the elevator to figure out exactly how to make Jude see that.

He'd have to push. All these years, he'd been careful _not_ to push Jude. _Not_ to poke at anxieties and insecurities. To let Jude deal with things the way that Jude dealt with things. Yosuke wondered, for a moment, if that backfired made it seem like he didn't care. He needed to fix it; he needed to tell Jude, flat out, that there was more for him. Better for him.

That the world would love him more than his father did.

It felt like the elevator was moving slower than it had any right to, but when it finally opened, Yosuke found himself practically sprinting down the hall to get to the room he and Jude were sharing. Once he used his keycard and opened the door, he was relieved to see that Jude was still standing in the room, half-dressed in his hospital scrubs.

"Jude, we need to talk."


	13. Temperance

**March 25th, 2016**

Yosuke had never liked the words "we need to talk." Every time someone said them, it always meant that something bad was happening. It seemed that Jude felt similarly, too, if the way he was looking at Yosuke in a mild panic was to be trusted. His doe-eyes were wide, like the aforementioned doe was caught in headlights, and held his work shirt in his hand. Yosuke could feel the frustration etched on his own face, and he was sure that it was just making the worry worse. He immediately felt horrible for the "we need to talk," but it was true.

Jude was still frozen in position, but he finally moved to tilt his head to the side. His eyes were still wide, but the rest of his expression was inquisitive... and definitely worried. "I... I told Yukiko to tell you that work called. C-can we talk later?"

The worry in his voice tugged at Yosuke's heartstrings, and for a split second, he considered caving and letting Jude leave. Anything to make that worry go away. But, he reminded himself, he couldn't. Not this time. Jude needed to hear this. Yosuke shook his head no.

"That's what this is about," he told Jude seriously, his voice softening in the face of Jude's obvious worry. "Sit down, Jude. Please?"

Yosuke walked over to the bed and took Jude's work shirt from his hand, tossing toward the headboard and waiting for Jude to sit down. Jude's eyes followed the shirt, and he blinked after it a couple of times, before turning to look at Yosuke with his big, amber eyes still lined with worry. Yosuke watched him swallow thickly, and he could practically _see_ the lump as it moved its way down Jude's throat. Even so, he turned around and sat down. Once again, guilt bubbled up at making Jude worry like this, but he reminded himself once more that this was for Jude's sake.

_He deserves to be happy. You're helping him see that._

The words were easy to think. Convincing himself of their truth was the hard part. Now that he was here, doubts began to rise. Jude had spent his whole life living for what his father wanted for him. _How is what you're doing any better?_ Yosuke asked himself. _He's lived his whole life for his father so far, and you're going to sit here and put more pressure on him-_

"Yosuke, are... is everything okay?" Jude asked, his voice practically inaudible, even in the silence in the room.

That snapped Yosuke out of his thought process, and he shook his head abruptly. _You're not trying to pressure him. You're... you're trying to encourage him to live for him. Not for his father._ He looked at Jude. "I'm okay," he insisted, before turning around and sitting as close as he possibly could to Jude.

"Because you're... you're not acting like you're okay. You're acting like something is wrong. Like you're... like I did something." Jude was worrying his lip in his mouth now, and anxiously wringing his hands in his lap.

Yosuke shook his head no. "You didn't!" he insisted. "You didn't, Jude." _He_ wasn't at fault for this. Yosuke needed to make it clear.

However many times he'd rehearsed this in his head, it seemed not to matter right now. He was drawing a complete and total blank about how to start the conversation, and he found himself wishing that he could clap his hands or snap his fingers and suddenly have the words come to him. He closed his eyes and looked at the floor, trying to come up with the right words.

Jude looked down at the floor too, and spoke in a quiet voice. "Are you... are you breaking it off? Us?" he asked, his tone heavy and thick with worry.

"No!" For a second, Yosuke wanted to ask where on earth Jude had gotten that idea, but as soon as the thought entered his mind, he realized exactly where. It... probably sounded like that, didn't it? The way he was acting all glum and tragic about this. He reached put a hand on top of Jude's latched hands. "No. Never. Not even close," he spoke steadily.

Hell, Yosuke couldn't see his world without Jude in it. He had grand visions in his mind about them in twenty years. They'd have a house then. Maybe somewhere between Inaba and Okina. Or maybe somewhere else entirely. Yosuke would be playing music... a local celebrity. Jude would be the star chef and star attraction at the Amagi Inn. They'd have pets of some kind, and maybe some kids... if they could get around the law somehow. Maybe they'd even take a trip to America or somewhere where it was legal for them to get married. Was he breaking it off? No. Not by a long shot. 

"Hey," he reached his opposite hand up and turned Jude to face him. "Never. Okay?" He gave Jude a reassuring smile.

The smile that Jude quirked in response didn't quite meet his eyes, and Yosuke knew that it was because he was still worried. Yosuke had to get his brain together. Had to be confident, because he was scaring Jude for no reason. Breathing in deep and letting it out slowly, he took one of Jude's hands from the ball they rested in on his lap, and entwined their fingers together. A nonverbal show that Yosuke was very much in love with him and had absolutely no intention of leaving him.

Yosuke's whole arm touched Jude's bare arm, from shoulder to fingertips, and he stared at their hands as he spoke. "Why did you never tell me that you dreamed of being a chef?" he asked. It was a start. A way to delve into things.

Sure, the fact that Jude never told him wasn't a big issue. It wasn't like it was a big sordid secret, and it wasn't like he could imagine Jude laughing maniacally about how Yosuke didn't know his deep-seeded desires behind Yosuke's back. But it was just more proof that Jude's father's determination not to let his son be happy had given him a complex. He didn't share his dreams on purpose. He gave Jude's hand an encouraging squeeze, once again trying to show him that everything was okay. That he wasn't mad. That he could answer honestly.

Jude was surprised as he looked from Yosuke's face, down to their entwined fingers. "I don't know..." he muttered, his voice low and soft with embarrassment. And that was a definite sign of the fact that he was trying to lie.

Once again, Yosuke turned Jude's face to his with two fingertips on his chin. "Jude, come on. You're a terrible liar. Especially to me. You know that." His voice was calm still, even though he very much knew the answer. "And you know that you can tell me anything. So, why didn't you tell me?"

Heaving a heavy sigh, Jude blinked slowly. It looked like he was turning his answer over in his head a few times, and eventually, he swallowed thickly and shrugged a shoulder. "Because it's stupid. It's unrealistic." His voice gave the impression that he thought the answer was simple and obvious. It was dejected, disappointed. Like he'd been told exactly that before.

By who, Yosuke didn't even need to be told.

It was the answer Yosuke had expected, but hearing the words coming from Jude's mouth made his chest hurt. Wasn't it a parent's job to tell their kids that everything they dreamed was within their reach? Honestly, if Yosuke could have traded upbringings with Jude, he'd have done it in half a second. He shook his head no.

"It's not stupid _or_ unrealistic. Why do you think that?" As if he had to ask.

Jude heaved a sigh and stood up, and Yosuke selfishly found himself lamenting the loss of contact. Still, he took a few steps forward and his bare shoulders raised in a halfhearted shrug. "I have my whole future set, Yosuke. That's good, right? I'm a nurse. Once I get promoted, I'll be on solid hours and I'll be able to go to medical school, and then I'll be a doctor." His voice was unsteady. "That's... that's good. I can give us a good life."

He sounded like he was trying to convince himself just as much as he was trying to convince Yosuke, and it made Yosuke's heart hurt. In Yosuke's mind, he imagined Jude's inner turmoil every morning; trying to convince himself that what he was doing was right. Making sure everyone else around him was happy, making sure all of his loved ones were taken care of... while he was feeling trapped, miserable. Suddenly Yosuke felt guilty for not going with his gut and starting this conversation earlier.

Yosuke shook his head no. "That's _not_ good, Jude." He stood up, but didn't walk up behind Jude right away. "You know it's not good."

Shaking his head no, Jude turned around and looked at Yosuke with resignation. "No, it is. Most people our age are trying to find their path. I have mine. It's right there. I don't have to look, or try, or fail or..." He stopped and ran a hand through his still-wet hair, looking away from Yosuke, and down at the floor. "Really, having all of this set for me saved me from a lot of stress." He shrugged a shoulder.

Once again, he was refusing to meet Yosuke's eye. A surefire sign that he wasn't telling the truth. Yosuke stepped forward and put his fingertips on Jude's cheek, turning his face so that they were eye to eye. "Tell me that again." His voice was soft, but his words were deliberate. "Look me in the eye and tell me that you'd be happy working in medicine for the rest of your life."

Jude was quiet.

Yosuke smoothed a thumb along Jude's cheek and then across his lower lip. "You can't, can you?" he asked.

For a few more seconds, Jude was quiet and still, then he finally shook his head no. "I... no. Of... of course I can't," he amitted. "Of course I won't be happy..." His voice was shaky now. "But I have to, Yosuke. I have to. Everything my father... everything my _parents_ did for me... if I turned my back on it now, they'd have wasted all that time, all that effort, making me into what I am. That's not fair." He shook his head no.

Yeah, Yosuke knew that was the reason. Knowing that it was coming didn't make it any easier to hear, though. "Jude," Yosuke shook his head no. "How can you think that suffering through every day in a job that doesn't suit you is right, when there's something better for you right in front of your face, and it just so happens to be exactly what you want to do with your life? _That's_ not fair to _you_." His voice was a little more forceful than he'd intended it to be, but he hated to see Jude killing himself like this.

Jude was quiet, and he closed his eyes and turned his head down to the floor.

More guilt bubbled in Yosuke's chest. He swallowed it back and tilted Jude's chin up. He wanted to show him the face of someone who _truly_ cared. Who _truly_ wanted him to be happy. "You're happy in the kitchen here, aren't you?" he asked.

There was no hesitation when Jude nodded this time.

"I just hate to see you wasting the chance to do what really makes you happy, just to do what would make your dad happy. Every day, I see you come home tired and miserable. Until you get into the kitchen and start cooking. And then your eyes light up and it's like the life comes right back to you." A little grin crossed Yosuke's face at the thought. "I just... I want you to be happy like that all the time. Every day."

Jude sighed. "Believe me. Every day for the past... god, I don't even know how long, I've wanted to quit. I've wanted to just throw my hands up, walk out, and never go back..." he told Yosuke softly, and then went quiet. "But... I can't. I just... I _can't_. I can hear my father in my head, telling me what a failure I am. How much of a disappointment I am. How much I..." he stumbled, "how much I let him down." He took a breath to steady himself. "I'm just... I don't have a choice." He looked up at Yosuke, met his eyes with the shine of tears threatening to spill over.

That sight was like a punch right in Yosuke's stomach, and he had to turn his head and look away for a second, steeling himself and turning to look back. "You do," he insisted.

"Yosuke, I-"

Yosuke shook his head no. "You _do_ , Jude!" Jude was about to object, Yosuke could tell. Instead of giving him the chance, Yosuke took his hand and led him to the mirror in the bathroom. "Look at yourself! You're so unhappy right now that just talking about it for a a few minutes has put you on the brink of tears." Yosuke wrapped his arms around Jude's bare middle and put his chin on Jude's shoulder. "And I know that you're afraid of the consequences, but Jude, what about the consequences if you don't? You'll walk through life miserable. You'll wake up every day and wish for the day to be over. Your heart... the kind heart that I love so much about you... will be crushed. You'll spend so much time making everyone else happy that you'll lose _your_ happy."

Jude stared at the reflection in the mirror for a minute, his eyes going from his own face, to Yosuke's face. "But what if I do, and then it turns out I'm not good enough? What if I do, and I... I prove my father right? Then I'll have completely wrecked a sure thing for something that might not work out." He swallowed thickly. "I'll be a failure." 

Shaking his head no, Yosuke gave a reassuring smile. "There's not a chance of that, Jude. Think about what you're saying. You cook better than anyone I know. And right off the bat, you know of someone who'll hire you. Without culinary school, even! Yukiko would be over the _moon_ to have you working here! You're not a failure. You won't _be_ a failure." He turned Jude around and looked at his face, rather than his reflection in the mirror.

"Someday, you need to stop living for your father, and start living for you."

For a second, Yosuke wasn't sure how Jude was going to react to that statement. Unshed tears still shone in his eyes, but in a split second, that changed. Jude blinked and a couple dropped from the corners of his eyes, sliding down his cheeks and landing on the floor between the two of them. "I just... I just don't know why he doesn't care about what I want..." he spoke, just barely above a whisper, and breathed in a just-barely shaky breath.

Since they'd been together, Yosuke could count on one hand the times that Jude had cried. Almost every one had _something_ to do with his father. Yosuke's hatred for the man bubbled in his stomach, but he couldn't let it make him irrational. Not right now. "I don't either."

"I told him once, a year before we moved to Inaba, that I wanted to take a cooking class in school. He wouldn't let me. He told me that someday I'd m-marry a woman that could cook for me, and then told me that he'd signed me up for a CPR class and an... an emergency first aid class." Jude sniffled, raising a hand to wipe his right eye, but not moving his left hand from where it rested against Yosuke's hip. "I had to learn from cookbooks. And every time I'd c-cook dinner at home, I had to lie and say it was my mom. She always covered for me. I got grounded once for making supper. He called it a waste of time."

Yosuke couldn't hold back the question, "and you care so much about making him happy, because...?" But he immediately felt horrible for asking.

Surprisingly, though, Jude didn't jump to his father's defense. He was quiet, looking up at Yosuke and swallowing nervously. "I just want him to accept who I am..." he whispered.

"But you're changing who you are to make that happen..." Yosuke whispered.

That seemed to strike a chord with Jude, and he went completely quiet, blinking back a few more tears and turning around to look at himself in the mirror. "I am, aren't I?" he replied, wetting his lips and breathing a sigh. "I'm changing who I am, trying to be someone I'm not, and..." He pulled in a deep breath, and then released it.

Yosuke nodded and watched Jude closely. "And it's not fair to you. You deserve to be happy more than anyone else I know." He finished Jude's sentence for him, leaning his hip against the bathroom counter.

With slightly red-rimmed eyes, Jude turned to look at him with a shrug and a little smile. "I wouldn't say anyone," he gave Yosuke a pointed look, and surprisingly, a slight smile. He paused for a couple of seconds and then wet his lips. "You know, a little while ago, I was going to bring the idea of quitting up to you. When we were walking back from Kanji's mom's."

Nodding, Yosuke reached over and brushed a few stray pieces of wet hair from Jude's face. "I thought so, yeah," he mused. "And then we almost got to talk about it again in the kitchen with Yukiko yesterday. I was starting to think we'd never get to talk about it." He was fully aware, of course, that just because the discussion was happening now, that didn't mean that Jude's mind had changed.

Jude bit his lip and pulled in a deep breath through his nose. "If I..." He stopped, looked down at the floor, blinked a couple of times, and then looked back up at Yosuke. "If I... do this, if I quit," he whispered, like he was afraid that his father was going to appear in the room and do something that Yosuke didn't even want to entertain the thought of, "you really think Yukiko will hire me?"

The uncertainty was met with a warm chuckle, and a nod. "I think she'd probably leap through the ceiling. Come on! She's been showing you recipes non-stop since we got here, asking you if you can cook them for the inn, Jude. She'd be absolutely freaking ecstatic," he mused.

A smile spread across Jude's face, but Yosuke could identify the exact moment that his train of thought changed, because the smile disappeared in an instant. "Would you... would you come with me when I told my father?" he asked meekly.

"Yeah, definitely," Yosuke nodded his head. "Whenever you needed me to."

Swallowing thickly once more, Jude raised his eyes and looked at Yosuke again. He stepped close to Yosuke once more and draped his arms loosely around Yosuke's hips. "What if, um..." He stumbled again, raising his head to look Yosuke in the eye. "What if I decided to tell my dad about us, too?" he asked in the same hushed tone.

To say that Yosuke was surprised was _more_ than an understatement. But maybe he shouldn't have been. Jude had always seemed comfortable in his own skin in that way. He had always been secure, and he'd definitely known himself in that way for a lot longer than Yosuke had, so maybe it shouldn't have been so surprising. But the fact that he was willing to tell his father about them... it was a surprise, for sure. He wet his lips and hummed thoughtfully.

"You'd be willing to tell your dad about us?" he asked in surprise.

Jude nodded once and hummed his approval. "I'd been thinking about it for a few days now," he admitted. "On that night when he stopped us on the way back from Kanji's mom's... I almost told him. I almost exploded and told him when he started implying that you were a bad influence. If I... I'm just tired of hiding. If I tell him, we won't have to hide anymore." He smiled shyly.

Not hiding anymore. The thought made Yosuke's mouth quirk into a grin. "That would be nice," he agreed.

It made Yosuke want to tell his parents, too, honestly. Unlike Derrick Mathis, Yosuke's parents absolutely adored Jude. They had said, no fewer than a thousand times, that they appreciated Jude more than they could express for being the one to bring Yosuke back to himself after Souji left. They loved it when he came over and helped cook dinner. They loved how happy Yosuke got when Jude was around. It would be a thousand times less painful than Jude's confession, he was sure. Maybe he'd do it afterward, to show Jude that it could be okay.

With a nod, Jude breathed a slow sigh. "I just... I don't like acting like we're something to be ashamed of, but I know you haven't known you were bisexual for as long as I've known I was gay, so..." he shrugged. "I wanted to be sure you were ready and-"

"I'm ready," Yosuke nodded. "I've been thinking about it myself, too."

A single laugh escaped Jude's lips, and he wiped his eyes again. "We should know better than not to talk to each other about things like this, shouldn't we?" he asked, pressing his lips to Yosuke's jaw absently.

Smirking a little, he hummed his agreement. "So, are you going to? Quit the hospital, I mean? Because if you tell Yukiko right now, I'm pretty sure she'd roll out the red carpet and give you a job right away." He pulled Jude back from their close contact and looked him in the eye.

"Right now?" Jude asked in surprise.

Yosuke nodded. "Why not now?" he asked.

After a few seconds of quiet, Jude looked over at the table at his phone. "You think I should? Right now?" he asked, uncertainty very clear in his voice.

Combing his fingers through Jude's hair, Yosuke shrugged a shoulder. "I don't know. Does the idea of never having to set foot back in Inaba Municipal Hospital as anything other than a patient appeal to you?" he asked, knowing the answer before he asked the question.

"Yes." The answer came out so quickly that it seemed like it even took Jude by surprise. "God, yes it does," he eventually added.

Yosuke didn't say anything, but he made sure that his eyes and smile clearly said, 'well then there's your answer.' "And don't you want to stop living for everyone else? Stop hiding?" He gave Jude a knowing smile.

"Shouldn't I make sure that Yukiko would hire me first?" Jude asked, still uncertain.

Shaking his head no, Yosuke smirked wryly. "No. You don't need to. She will, because she's just as upset with how miserable you're making yourself as the rest of us are." He walked over to the table, picked Jude's phone up and offered it out to him. "Ina-san already considers you a member of the staff and I can a-hundred-percent guarantee that you'll have a job here before the day is out. It's up to you, but..."

Jude was staring at the phone in Yosuke's hand, and biting his lip. 

For a second, Yosuke didn't think that he was going to take the phone, but in a swift motion, Jude reached his hand out and put if over Yosuke's, on top of the phone. He didn't pull back right away, however, because as soon as his hand touched the phone, he froze like a jolt had taken over his body. His eyes went up to the ceiling, and Yosuke couldn't help the proud smile that spread across his face at the realization that Jude's persona was evolving. That wasn't what he'd intended when he came up to talk to Jude today, but it was definitely a bonus side-effect.

_Thou art I, and I am thou._   
_Thou hast reinforced a long-standing bond._   
_These bonds shall be your eyes to see the truth._   
_We bestow upon thee the ability to create Vishnu, the ultimate form of the Temperance Arcana._

The voice was a little bit louder this time, but Yosuke didn't care. He focused on Jude's face, and it made him smile. Pride. Self-satisfaction. It didn't seem like Jude got to feel those things all too often, but the look suited him. The honest happiness that made his face light up like a candle... Yosuke didn't want to see him wearing anything but that smile ever again.

"M-my persona..." he mumbled, blinking a couple of times and still staring blankly at the ceiling. "That powerful feeling..." he added. "I've... I've never felt anything _like_ that before! It was like... like something inside me changed, but I could actually _feel_ it changing!"

Yosuke smiled in encouragement. "Your doubt was holding you back," he mused.

Jude nodded. "I'm still not a hundred percent sure about this," he admitted, "but you're... you're right. I know what would make me happy. And if you're sure that it's accessible, I should go for it." There was a smile on his face, an _honest_ smile.

And it made Yosuke smile, as he released Jude's phone into his hand.

Taking a deep breath, Jude walked over to the bed and stared at his suitcase for a second, before smiling and reaching for a t-shirt instead of his work shirt. The symbolism didn't escape Yosuke, and it made him smile. "I'm going to make the call on the roof. Somehow, I get the feeling that I'm going to need the fresh air. I'll be back down to Elize's party in about ten minutes? Once I finish, I'll want to change back into something more comfortable." His voice was still uncertain, but Yosuke could tell that he was ready to do this.

Yosuke nodded. "I'll head down there. Do you want me to tell Yukiko, or do you want to surprise her?" he asked with a little grin.

Jude chuckled and shrugged. "You can tell her. Or, tell her that I'm quitting, but not that I'm doing it right now! Then when she asks when I'll be available, I'll tell her that I'm available now and really make her go through the roof!" He looked pleased with himself at that idea.

With a smirk, Yosuke nodded. "Alright. But before you go..." He called Jude's attention as he headed for the door. When Jude turned, Yosuke reached out and grabbed Jude's hand, pulling him close and crashing their lips together. He felt Jude smiling against his lips, and he smiled in return. "I'm proud of you," he muttered, leaning his forehead against Jude's.

After stealing another brief, quick kiss, Jude smoothed his thumb across Yosuke's cheek and cleared his throat, reluctantly pulling himself away from Yosuke with a little grin on his face. "I've got to... I've got to do this, before we get carried away." He backed away until he hit the door, and then fumbled for the doorknob with a little smile. "Put a pin in this, please..." He raised his eyebrows quickly, as he finally found the doorknob and pulled the door open.

Yosuke chuckled and nodded, watching as Jude left the room. He breathed a sigh and smiled. It had taken him far too long to actually have that conversation with Jude, but they'd had it. And now Jude was better for it. He smoothed a hand through his hair and left the room, heading back down to the banquet hall to enjoy the rest of Elize's party and wait for Jude.


	14. Forsake

**April 2nd, 2016**

_"I'm not coming in today. Or tomorrow. Or any other day. I quit."_

It may not have been the most professional way to quit, but he'd done it. He'd _done_ it. Jude's own voice had repeated in his head a hundred thousand times over the past week. And Uehura-san's shock after he'd told her... it was oddly satisfying. She seemed furious, asked Jude if he was insane, and then insisted that she was going to tell his father right away. Honestly, Jude had almost balked at that. He'd almost changed his mind. He'd stopped himself, though. The thought of letting _Yosuke_ down had eclipsed the worry of letting his father down. Maybe it wasn't exactly what Yosuke had been aiming for—Jude had heard him saying 'think for yourself' a few times in their conversation, after all—but that didn't change that he wanted to please the people he loved. He knew, of course, that it wouldn't take much to make Yosuke happy, but that just made him all the more determined.

He'd have to deal with the repercussions from his father now, but he'd deal with them. He was an adult. It was his life now. And the number of times he'd repeated those words in his head over the past few days was shameful. Maybe Rise had been right, years ago, when she told him that he was afraid to let himself be completely happy.

Because he had plenty of reason to be happy now, but he was hesitating to let himself enjoy it too much. Yukiko had practically jumped through the roof, just like Yosuke said she would, when Jude told her that he had quit his job. He hadn't even needed to ask if she was still willing to hire him. She'd _insisted_ , and told him that he would be the inn's superstar.

For the past week, there had been very little dread when Jude had woke up in the morning. Waking up next to the man he loved, going to a job he loved... for the first time in his life, he finally felt like everything was starting to go his way. The only lingering dreads he had left were his father's reaction to all of this, and the fact that Adachi and Souji were still out there. He knew that it was only a matter of time before they showed themselves again, and that was doing its part to put a damper on his newfound happiness.

Not enough, though. Jude couldn't recall ever having smiled as much in his _life_ as he had over the past couple of weeks.

Right now, though... right now it was hard to smile. As he and Yosuke walked along the shopping district, heading toward his parents' house, an ill feeling knotted his stomach up. Swallowing thickly as they passed Rise's grandmother's shop, he turned to look at Yosuke next to him and bit his lip.

"I think he'll be suspicious enough that I'm showing up unannounced," he admitted, glancing at the Mathis Family Clinic sign in the distance. "Actually. Uehura-san has probably already told him, so I'd be surprised if he even lets us into the house."

Yosuke's features were etched into a frown, and he reached out to take Jude's hand. The unabashed show of affection was appreciated, even in public. "He'd really just... not let you in like that?"

Jude nodded and sighed. "Back in Nosu, I got a B on a history exam and he made me knock on the door for almost an hour before my mom finally caved and came and let me in. We had a sun-porch, so I wouldn't have been stuck outside, so it wasn't _that_ b-"

Shaking his head adamantly, Yosuke narrowed his eyes in the direction of Jude's house. "No, it's that bad. So you got a B. My mom and dad celebrated B's." He shook his head in disappointment. "It..." He paused and lowered his voice, the bite fading from his tone, when he turned to look at Jude. "It's a mystery to me, how you turned out the way you are with a father like yours," he mused.

"It's nothing special," Jude insisted.

Yosuke reached an arm out and stopped Jude in his tracks, turning him so that they were face to face. "It is," he insisted, pushing some of Jude's hair out of his face. "I know that I lucked out as far as parents go, but you're... you're just amazing, in spite of the way your dad bears down on you." He huffed a breath. "You're just... I don't know how you do it," he said, giving a weak half-smile.

Jude's smile wasn't weak, though, because the way Yosuke always made sure to tell him how amazing he thought Jude was... it was one of the things Jude loved most about him. "It was partially because of my mom," he admitted softly. "She... whenever my dad did his thing, my mom always made sure to let me know that she loved me no matter what. I took more after her than my dad, personality-wise." He chuckled softly.

Had he ever. Not only was she the kinder of the two, but she was also quieter, more emotionally-intelligent and far, far more subservient than Jude's father. His mother had always been willing to do practically anything to make his father happy. It was why she wasn't as outwardly affectionate with Jude as he was sure she wanted to be, when his father was around. But when it was just the two of them, which happened somewhat frequently because of his father's addiction to work, she was always affectionate and encouraging with Jude.

He could practically see the _well, that's obvious,_ on Yosuke's face, but Yosuke didn't verbalize it. Instead, he gave Jude a little smile and nodded. "Thankfully," he mused.

Snorting a chuckle, Jude nodded his agreement. "It's partially because of her, like I said. But it's also partially because of Leia and Rise and the others. And you." He saw Yosuke's little smile and responded with one of his own. "It is. Leia was always encouraging, but when she and I grew apart, I started hating myself," he admitted. "I started believing that my dad was right about me, and hating who I was... wanting to change into someone who would be liked, but wanting to be me at the same time. You guys gave me a reason to like myself again." Even though he couldn't see it, he knew his face was red. "When I met all of you, I remember thinking, 'if these people can like me, maybe it's not so bad to be who I am,'" he bit his lip and looked at the ground.

Yosuke smiled. "It's not," he agreed.

"And then I started to like myself again. I kind of took a step back after my shadow came out. Had to take a look at my dark side and everything, but the more time I spent with everyone—especially you—the more I started to like myself again." Jude could feel the embarrassment in his expression, but also the proud little smile creeping across his face.

The smile on Yosuke's face was proud, too. "And now you've taken another step," he mused.

"A big one," Jude agreed. "One that I never thought I'd take. And I owe it to you."

Yosuke shook his head no. "You owe it to you," he insisted.

Smirking, Jude shrugged. "I owe it to both of us." It was the most he would concede. And it seemed that Yosuke was okay with it, if his little grin was any indication.

The pair of them silently turned and started walking toward Jude's parents' house again. Yosuke hadn't let go of his hand yet, and he gave it a quick squeeze. "I remember back when you got thrown into the Other World," he mused, "your shadow mentioned that you didn't want to work in medicine. I don't think I put too much thought into it at the time. I was too busy trying to deal with everything else happening at the time, but..." He shrugged.

Jude nodded his head yes. "I knew that I wanted to cook back then. I was just... my dad said that if I didn't work as a doctor, it'd be 'okay' if I worked as a vet. I was so convinced that I wanted to do something else that I just..." that he was willing to believe that his father's back up plan was good enough. He didn't say it, but he didn't need to. He knew that Yosuke knew.

"But now you know better, right?" Yosuke asked.

And Jude nodded with a smile. "Well, somewhat, anyway. There's a piece of me that's still a little bit worried about having the rug yanked out from under me. I can't remember the last time everything went my way like this... so..." He shrugged one shoulder, embarrassed. 

Yosuke shook his head no. "I'm not going to let anyone yank the rug out from under you, Jude. You've worked so hard for your whole life to make everyone you care about happy. You deserve this." He squeezed Jude's hand again and then released it, one finger at a time, letting his hand slide back to his side.

It was only then that Jude realized where they were standing. He looked up at his parents' house, swallowing thickly. The building wasn't imposing in and of itself. Not really, anyway. It matched the rest of the buildings along the shopping district; the only distinguishing feature was a white roof in contrast with all the other darker colored rooves. But as Jude self-consciously straightened the non-existent wrinkles in his cardigan, he breathed a deep, slow breath and turned his head to look at Yosuke.

"Last chance to change your mind," Jude said in a quiet voice, adjusting his collar of his polo shirt.

But it seemed like that statement was pointless, because within a couple of seconds, the nearby front door slammed closed. Jude jumped, and glanced up and over Yosuke's shoulder to see his father looking at them with fury dancing in his eyes. Any bravery that he may have held in regards to telling his father everything tonight crumbled to the ground, and suddenly he felt like a teenager again, being caught outside after curfew. It was worse now, though. He couldn't recall ever having seen his father this angry.

For a second, he considered grabbing Yosuke's hand, turning and running back down the street toward the bus stop, but he gave himself a mental slap. He couldn't be afraid of his father forever. Yosuke's assurances rang in his head, that he had to do what was best for him, and he steeled himself... at least a little bit.

However, his father's voice cut through the steel like it was paper. "I'm impressed that you were willing to show your face here." His father crossed his arms at his chest and looked at Jude like he was a piece of mud kicked from the bottom of his shoe.

"So... you know, then." It wasn't a question. Jude could tell. Yosuke could tell. Any random passersby could probably tell. Fortunately, though, no one was passing by at the moment. "Listen, dad..."

His father shook his head no. "No, _you_ listen. After all the schmoozing I put in to make sure that the hospital didn't fire you after all those shoddy performance reviews, you just go and _quit_?" He stepped down from the front step and used one arm to push Yosuke out of the way. "And then I hear that you're working as a _chef_ at the Amagi Inn? Do you even know how to cook or is it all just because you're sleeping with that Amagi girl?"

Jude's eyes widened, and he heard Yosuke snort a laugh from behind his father's back. "I'm not sleeping with Yukiko, dad," he told his father flatly.

Rolling his eyes, Jude's father shrugged his shoulders. "I honestly don't care who you're sleeping with," he said, completely unaware of how completely and totally wrong he was about that. "All I care about, _Jude_ , is that you're a complete disappointment. Ungrateful for everything that I've gone through for you." He stood over Jude, looming over him like a shadow.

Honestly, Jude thought he'd be crushed. He thought hearing his father call him a disappointment would absolutely smash his heart to pieces. Surprisingly, though, as his father stared down at him like he expected tears, apologies and pleas for forgiveness, he felt surprisingly... okay. Not _completely_ okay. It was still saddening to hear that his father would rather assume the worst than try to find out that Jude was actually a pretty _good_ cook and had gotten the job at the inn because of raw, untrained skill, but he felt absolutely no impulse to apologize; no desire to grovel and say how wrong he was.

And it made him smile.

He saw his smile reflected in his father's glasses, and _that_ made him laugh a little bit, which only served to pique his father's irritation.

"What's so damn funny?" His father's voice cut through his thoughts like a razorblade.

Yosuke was quiet and concerned, but Jude looked over his father's shoulder, giving Yosuke a grateful smile. It was because of him that he was able to be okay like this. That he was even able to look his father in the eye with the confidence that he wished he had all along.

Sharing that look may have been a mistake, though. In an instant, his father's attention shifted, and he turned to look at Yosuke with anger and disapproval. "Oh. So this is _your_ influence. I should have known," he seethed. "Jude would never have quit his nice, admirable if not for you, would he have? What is _wrong_ with you? Are you so adamant on failure that you have to drag my son down with you?"

At the word failure, Jude saw Yosuke trying to hide a twinge of hurt, and Jude's anger bubbled a little bit more. "Stop it," he spat.

"You think he's ever going to find a woman to fall in love with him and marry him as long as people are whispering about the two of you being lovers?"

Jude's eyes narrowed. "Stop, dad," he threatened. There was absolutely _no_ way Jude was going to let his father embarrass the man he loved.

"Shut up, Jude," his father threatened back.

But Jude shook his head, walking over and standing in between his father and Yosuke. "No, I will not shut up. I said _stop_." He narrowed his eyes and steeled himself again, finding confidence that he never thought he'd find, in the face of his father bearing down on Yosuke instead of him. "Stop assuming poorly of Rise and Kanji and all of my friends, and stop insulting my _boyfriend_." The last word was spoken pointedly, like he knew that it would get his father's attention.

And it did exactly that. "What did you just say?" he seethed.

For a second, he balked. He'd heard his father speak in anger before, but never quite like this. There was something else there now. Whatever it was, it made Jude want to stop, want to run. But Yosuke's supportive hand on his shoulder steeled him again, and he pulled in a deep breath, looked up at his father and said, "I said boyfriend. Yosuke is my boyfriend, dad. I don't want to 'find a woman to fall in love with me,' because I'm gay. And I happen to have a _man_ who's in love with me."

In all his years, Jude had never seen that expression on his father's face. Anger mixed with disappointment, sure. He'd seen those. But there were a couple of new, far worse emotions in there and Jude felt his stomach twisting in anxiety. Disgust. Hate. His father's whole body was as tense as a taut string, and Jude subconsciously took a step back, narrowly missing stepping on Yosuke's foot. He turned his head slightly to look at Yosuke over his shoulder and mutter an apology, but when he turned back around...

_SMACK!_

When his father's hand hit his cheek, the sharp pain of impact made him stumble and trip over the same foot he'd almost stepped on. In a split second, he was on the ground on his side, and staring up at his father with stunned wide eyes. He'd been hit by shadows many times. He'd been hit when he was sparring just as many times. But this time... it was different. His father had always been _emotionally_ harsh, sure, but he'd never hit Jude before. And of all the reactions that Jude expected him to have... this wasn't one of them.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Yosuke's voice echoed in the street, and he took a step forward to face Jude's father.

But just as quickly as he'd hit Jude, he pushed on Yosuke's shoulders, knocking him down to the ground and glaring between the two of them. "If I see _either_ of you at my door ever again, I swear to god," he spat, turning his eyes to look at Jude again. "Your mother will have all of your remaining things in boxes. Come and get them when I'm not home." After turning around, Jude's father's voice came in a low rumble. "I don't want to see you ever again, do you understand?"

Completely stunned and silent, Jude just nodded and stared after his father's retreating form as he walked into the house. He blinked a couple of times and stared blankly at the door after it slammed closed. Maybe he should have had something more to say. His father had essentially just disowned him, hadn't he? He'd honestly expected it. He'd _honestly_ expected worse. He wasn't sure how they could have, but he'd genuinely expected things to go even worse than they had. Still, hearing those words coming from his father's mouth, as well as the audible _click_ as the door locked behind him... hurt Jude's heart more than he could express. He finally turned his head to look at Yosuke, who was just now pulling himself to his knees.

Yosuke slid across the short amount of pavement that separated the two of them and took Jude's chin in his fingers.

Jude hissed. "Careful, careful..." he brought a hand up to touch his cheek, equal parts surprised and not when it came back sticky and red with blood. His dad's wedding ring. Of course.

"Are you okay?" Yosuke's voice was quieter than usual. Dripping with something he hadn't heard in a long time. Insecurity.

Part of Jude wondered what the insecurity was about, but he nodded his head. "It's... it's just a cut on the cheek," he muttered. "I've had a lot worse. Shadows have probably done a lot worse." Actually, it felt a little more like a cheekbone bruise, but Jude didn't really want to bring that up right now. He didn't want to go to the hospital in the slightest.

Yosuke shook his head no. "That's not what I meant, Jude." He pulled himself to his feet and reached down to help Jude up, too.

Deep down, Jude knew that. But the fact of the matter was that... he was equal parts okay and not okay. He was okay, because the two of them didn't have to hide anymore. There was no more hidden fear of his father finding out about them, no more real reason for secrets. Yeah, people would talk, but people always talked. He wasn't okay, though, for obvious reasons.

"I know..." he mumbled in response. "I'm... I'm not sure, honestly. Part of me is fine, but the rest of me..." He paused, and turned his head to look up at the clinic and the house. "C-can we go somewhere else, please?"

Without another word, Yosuke started to lead the way. The walk was silent, but as a form of reassurance, for both Yosuke and himself, Jude took Yosuke's hand before they got to the end of the shopping district. The walk led them to the flood plain again, and the pair of them took a seat at the same gazebo that they always sat at. Jude ran his free hand through his hair and looked over at Yosuke, wetting his lips and heaving a heavy sigh. What was he supposed to say right now? He was equal parts humiliated and concerned.

He looked at their entwined hands for a second, and then back up at Yosuke's face. "Did he hurt you when he shoved you?" he asked softly.

Yosuke shook his head no. "I've done worse to myself," he half-joked. "Ended up face first into my fair share of telephone poles and trash cans in my lifetime." He snorted a chuckle.

"Yeah, but none of them were caused by my father." Jude's voice sounded glum and self-deprecating, even to his ears, and he looked down at the ground in response.

With a shrug, Yosuke moved his hand to place it on Jude's opposite shoulder, encircling his arm around Jude's back. He shook his head no. "Jude, I'm okay," he offered sincerely. "I'm honestly more worried about you now. That couldn't have been easy."

Yosuke's arm around him was comforting, and Jude nodded his head, then leaned it over to rest against Yosuke's shoulder. "It wasn't. But it also was," he admitted. "The second he started tearing into you, I knew what I needed to do." His voice was low and quiet. "I'd rather have dealt with that than have him hurt you." Which was ironic, in a way, because he had ended up hurting Yosuke in the end after all.

"I'm amazed you still want to be with me after that." Yosuke leaned his head over so that it was resting against Jude's, but his voice didn't match the confidence of the motion. It was quiet and uncertain. Like he somehow expected Jude to blame him for this.

Jude moved, forcing Yosuke from his position, to look Yosuke in the eye. "Of course I do!" he insisted. "I... I wanted us not to have to hide anymore, Yosuke. I don't... just because my dad doesn't care, just because he just... he just disowned me," at those words, Jude practically choked back a lump in his throat, "doesn't mean that's changed. I love you, Yosuke." And he wasn't going to throw away the most important thing in his life just because his dad was an idiot.

A weak smile crossed Yosuke's face. "I love you, too," he reassured Jude.

"And I'm free now," Jude pointed out. "I mean, maybe it wasn't the best way for it to happen. But it happened. I don't have to answer to him for anything anymore."

Yosuke frowned. "It won't be like this when we tell my parents," he offered, reassuringly. "My parents both love you to pieces. If they're weird about it at first, they'll come around. Maybe they'll try to get your dad to come around, too." He ran a thumb along the top of Jude's hand.

Jude shook his head. "It won't work," he admitted glumly. "I think I've told you before that my dad has commented that all gay people should be sent to camps. I don't think that we'll... that I'll... ever hear from him again." He gave a half-sigh and blinked his eyes slowly.

"Do you think that he'll try to send you to one of those camps?" Yosuke blinked a couple of times.

Half-laughing, Jude shrugged a shoulder. "Honestly, I don't think we have to worry about it, because it would involve telling someone else that his son is gay. Which... which he wouldn't do." He let out a heavy breath, then turned to look at Yosuke. "You know... I'm more surprised that you still want to be with me. After all of that." He waved his hand absently in the direction of the shopping district.

Yosuke gently touched Jude's chin, turning his head so that they were facing each other, and shook his head no. "Don't worry about that, alright? It's going to take more than your father to scare me away. You're stuck with me, Mathis," he winked.

And Jude smiled. After everything that had happened that evening, Jude managed a smile. "Good," he mumbled.

"Now come on. Let's go back to the inn, okay? We need to get some ice on your cheek, and suddenly, there's nothing more I need than to curl up in bed and watch some bad movies with you." Yosuke pushed Jude's bangs back from his face and gave him a loving smile.

Jude's smile grew a little bit more. "Yeah, okay. Let's go."

Maybe it hadn't gone the way he'd hoped it would. Maybe he would never see his father again. But that was okay. He wouldn't change his relationship with Yosuke for the entire world, so his father could hate him all he wanted. He could completely remove him from the family, if that was what he really wanted to do. Jude was exactly where he needed to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise, things are gonna pick up very soon! Just wanted to get a couple of things out there before they did pick up!


	15. Abducted

**April 6th, 2016 ******

Elize was getting really good.

On her birthday, Yosuke had said that they'd wait until Yosuke and Jude got back to their apartment to continue her lessons, but it turned out that spontaneity had other plans. They'd ended up bumping into each other at Junes while Jude was working and Ken was at an away soccer game, so in Yosuke's mind, there was nothing better to do with the rest of their afternoon than practice at the park. As soon as Yosuke had told Jude the plan, he'd gladly whipped them up a lunch of breaded fried chicken and home fries, and for the hundredth time in the past couple of weeks, Yosuke found himself glad that things had gone the way they had. Yeah, the slowly fading red mark and bruise on Jude's cheek was a reminder of how difficult it had been to get there, but they were there.

And as he sat in the park with Elize, not feeling like he had to worry as much about Jude's sanity for once, he felt like life was finally going in the right direction. There was, of course, part of him that was always on alert because Souji and Adachi were still out there somewhere waiting to attack, but outside of that... he finally felt like he could relax a little bit.

And as he watched Elize strum the song he'd just taught her, he felt a proud smile crossing his face. She really was learning fast. They'd gone from chord progressions to simple three-chord songs, and aside from the occasional mix-up here and there, she almost had it completely mastered.

"You're doing great, Elize," Yosuke mused, reaching down and picking up a home fry, popping it into his mouth and watching as she placed her fingers to the frets to start the song again.

She smiled wide. "I kinda cheated," she admitted with a giggle. "I cut a piece of cardboard the same size as the fret-board and practiced the right finger positions at home." She strummed again and hummed along with the notes she played.

Shaking his head no, Yosuke shrugged a shoulder. "I don't think that's cheating so much as it is using your head. Have you told any of the other chorus people that you can play guitar now?" he asked her.

"Uh-uh," she shook her head no. "I wanna be really good before I do that, so maybe I can write a song for the chorus. Wouldn't that be cool? If I was the first student in Yasogami High to actually write a song for the chorus to sing?" She gave Yosuke an excited smile and strummed another chord.

Her confidence really _was_ night and day from a year ago. Yosuke took a couple of seconds to look down at the fret-board of his guitar, and fiddled with the tuning a little bit. He idly started to pluck the melody to one of Jude's favorite songs. When he realized what he was playing, and that Elize had stopped and was watching him with surprise and amazement, he felt his cheeks heating up.

"S-sorry about that," he muttered, somewhat embarrassed, and glanced down at the strings. "Didn't mean to hijack your practice session."

She shook her head no and smiled wide. "No! That was awesome! I think I've heard that song a couple times. Jude likes it a lot, doesn't he?" She'd watched his hands intently, like she'd been trying to memorize the positioning so that she could play it herself. And now she was trying to replicate it. She wasn't _perfect_ , but she was doing pretty well, for someone with as little experience as she had.

Yosuke smiled a little bit. "I was going to surprise Jude by playing it when he came back to the room one of these nights." He felt a little awkward, talking with Elize about his relationship with Jude, but it had just slipped out.

Elize didn't seem to share the awkward feeling, though, because she smiled with her whole face and nodded her head. "I think that's really cute! Like something out of a romantic movie or something!" She set her guitar down in front of her and reached over to the picnic basket for one of the cakes that Jude had made.

With a nod, Yosuke scratched the back of his neck and smiled. "Just kinda figured that he deserved it, for finally letting himself be happy." And for standing up to his father, but that went unsaid. The rest of the group knew, but he figured that Jude wouldn't want it talked about too much.

As Elize cleaned her fingertips from the remains of her cake, she took a glance around the park. "I'm surprised it's so quiet out tod-" She stopped suddenly when her eyes were near Yosuke, looking over his shoulder.

The sudden stop took Yosuke by surprise, but he quickly turned his head to look over his shoulder. Almost immediately, he wished he hadn't. That slouched posture, that crazy hair... Yosuke would recognize it anywhere. "A-Adachi...?" he stumbled out, before quickly moving his hand to his pocket for his cell phone. The police. Chie. Naoto. Someone needed to know about this. "Elize. Run. Head to-" he froze, much like Elize had seconds ago. Approaching from the other side, behind Elize, and much closer than Adachi was, was Souji.

Yosuke had known, of course, that it was only a matter of time before the pair of them showed themselves. Maybe Yosuke and Elize coming out by themselves like this was a bad idea, but he'd never expected... _you should have,_ his brain taunted.

Raising her head and looking over her shoulder as she got up to run, Elize gasped. She turned back around and grabbed Yosuke's wrist. "You run too! I'm not leaving without you! We can come and get the stuff later!" she insisted.

And she was right. As much as Yosuke loved his guitar... that was replaceable. They needed to get the hell out of here right now. Yosuke had his cell phone in his hand as he pulled himself to his feet. But from the corner of his eye, he spotted Souji's speed picking up, and he was bee-lining straight for Elize. "We have to run." His voice was quiet, low so that only she could hear him.

Her eyes went to where Souji was, and she nodded her head. The pair of them took off in a run, toward an area of the park where there were more people, but it didn't occur to Yosuke until he couldn't spot Elize in his periphery that she was just a little bit slower on her feet than he was. He screeched to a halt and turned around, eyes wide with panic as he turned around just in time to see Souji grab her around the middle and put a hand over her mouth. He could just barely hear her muffled scream, but it was definitely still audible enough to make his stomach turn.

Adachi looked right at Yosuke, a taunting grin on his face as Souji leaned down to whisper something in Elize's ear, and then took his hand off her mouth.

"Hey!" Yosuke shouted. "Let her go!" _Scream, Elize. Scream, please._ There weren't many people at the park that day, and the ones that were there weren't anywhere near where the four of them stood. It would take a scream to get their attention.

But she didn't.

Why wasn't she screaming? What had Souji whispered to her? Yosuke knew, of course, that he had to help her. Something, in the very pit of his stomach, told him that he was walking into a trap. He couldn't just let them take Elize, though. He pulled in a breath, held his cell phone tightly in his hand and walked forward. "Let her go," he threatened. Not that he thought there was a lot he could do at this point, but he had to try.

As he got closer, though, he realized how big of a mistake it was. Souji was holding Elize's hands behind her back, and Adachi had his hand in his coat pocket, holding onto something out of sight. Yosuke didn't even need to ask, really, to know what it was. He remembered hearing what had happened with Jude. How he'd pulled a gun when he'd broken into their apartment. He swallowed thickly. "Wh-what do you want from us?"

Souji shrugged and watched him with a grin. "To come with us." It was a simple statement, but Yosuke didn't like the tone he'd said it in.

To go with them. Yosuke turned his eyes to Elize and chewed on his lip, asking her wordlessly what she thought they should do. It wasn't like they had a lot of choice, did they? If Adachi had a gun, and they refused, he'd shoot them. Wouldn't he? Yosuke swallowed thickly and looked up at Souji again. Seeing those familiar silver eyes made the old betrayal bubble in his chest again, and it hurt, but he ignored it for now. "Where to?" he asked quietly.

"That's for us to know and you not to," Adachi responded confidently. "You're going to come with us, and if you try to run? I'll shoot you. Sound fair?"

No. No it didn't sound fair. Elize had tears shining in the corners of her eyes, and Yosuke looked from her to Adachi. "I'll go. But leave her alone, please. She didn't do anything here." In the back of his mind, Yosuke knew that maybe quoting Adachi and Souji's note would hurt Elize's feelings, but it was to keep her safe. He had to hope she'd understand.

It didn't seem like it would matter, though. Adachi shook his head no. "We need her. Maybe later. But for right now, she comes with us." He pointed what Yosuke could only assume to be his gun right at Yosuke's chest. "Get over here," he directed, nodding his head at the ground in front of him.

Adachi grabbed Yosuke's arm and twisted it behind his back with the arm not holding onto his gun. The twist of his arm caused Yosuke to drop his phone to the ground and let out a pained hiss. That seemed to amuse Adachi, as he chuckled under his breath, and then started guiding them in the direction of the parking lot. The walk was silent, and for the first time in a long time, Yosuke found himself cursing how quiet the park in Inaba was. The few people that were there were solidly in their own world, completely ignoring the _extremely_ suspicious scene that was heading in the opposite direction. For a second, Yosuke considered calling out for help, but the press of something hard against his back—all but confirming that Adachi _was_ holding a gun in his coat—stopped him.

After Adachi forced Yosuke into the backseat of the car and Souji forced Elize into the seat beside him, Yosuke looked at Elize apologetically. She was panicked. Very panicked. But Yosuke could only assume that the plan was to throw the pair of them into the TV. In which case, he knew that the rest of the team would be in for them as soon as they possibly could. He was scared. Of course he was. He was fucking _terrified_. But this time, between the two of them, _he_ had to be the one to keep his head. Not that he couldn't trust Elize to; she was usually calm, anyway. But right now, she was _beyond_ terrified.

The car ride was quiet, aside from some whispered talk between Souji and Adachi in the front seat. No matter how hard Yosuke strained to block everything else out, though, he couldn't make much out. He'd heard a couple things. _She's waiting,_ was one of them. _Their personas_ and _other side_ caught his attention, too. But at that point, Adachi caught him listening and shot him a glare that made him recoil instantly.

It didn't matter. He'd heard enough to make him question. Who was this "she" they were talking about? Was she waiting on the other side? And what for?

Elize was staring at him with obvious fear in her eyes, and Yosuke reached a hand out and placed it on her shoulder in an attempt to ease her worry a little. He wouldn't let anything happen to her if he could help it. At that point, Adachi glanced up at the rear view mirror and narrowed his eyes. Two seconds later, a smirk crossed his face, and he turned his attention to Souji. "You forgot to blindfold them, _partner_."

The deliberate tone Adachi used when he spoke the word partner made Yosuke's hackles rise, and as much as he wished that it hadn't, it got to him. Yosuke narrowed his eyes, glaring at the rear view mirror. As much as part of him wanted to snap and tell him not to taunt... they _were_ partners. Weren't they? And he didn't want to give Adachi the satisfaction of having gotten to him.

Souji fished around in his pocket and then turned around, passing a pair of blindfolds back to Yosuke. "Put these on. Her, too." He turned and looked at Elize.

"And if we get any indication that you can see anything, you'll regret it." Adachi's voice was threatening.

Yosuke breathed a heavy sigh and handed Elize her blindfold. "It'll be okay, Elize," he spoke, and he sincerely hoped his tone was reassuring. But at this point, he wasn't even sure if he was telling the truth. He watched as Elize nodded, and then put the blindfold down over her eyes.

The last thing Yosuke saw before he blindfolded himself was Souji's expectant gaze staring him down.

*

When Adachi uncovered Yosuke's eyes, he expected to see the yellow fog of the TV world. He supposed that his first hint should have been the fact that there was no fall, no painful landing... none of it. But instead of the yellow fog, instead of needing to shield his eyes from the bright colors, all he could see was a beam of light in an otherwise dark and dusty room. Yosuke found himself squinting against the light as he looked out the window, trying to get some kind of mental read on where they were. He could just barely make out the corner of the Konishi Liquors building. The back of it. So wherever they were... it wasn't _in_ the shopping district, but it was close to it.

He pulled at the zip ties Adachi had attached to his wrists and made a face. "Why didn't you bring us into the TV?" he seethed at Adachi, as he walked across the room to pull Elize's blindfold off.

"You think we're stupid?" Adachi spat in response.

Yosuke snorted a laugh and shrugged a shoulder. "You probably don't want me to answer that honestly," he muttered, not quite under his breath.

When that hit Adachi's ears, it seemed to take a couple of seconds to register in his brain, and Yosuke could almost identify the second that it did. He turned around and looked at Yosuke, with the same mania in his eyes as the day he'd shot Jude. "No," he mused in a sing-song voice as he walked from Elize to Yosuke. "No, I _do_ want you to answer it honestly, Hanamura. Please." The smile on his face was crooked and taunting.

As much as Yosuke didn't want it to be, he was sure that the fear he was feeling showed on his face. But he didn't say anything. He didn't want to give Adachi the satisfaction.

It seemed that Adachi wasn't satisfied with that, though. He narrowed his eyes and leaned down, stopping inches from Yosuke's face and arching a taunting eyebrow. "I was polite, wasn't I?" he asked in a threatening voice. "Do you _think_ I'm _stupid_ , Hanamura?" Every time he enunciated a word, a fleck of spit came out and hit Yosuke in the face, and he had all he could do not to cringe.

"N-no..." Yosuke stumbled out.

With a quick chuckle, Adachi stood up straight. "Don't _lie_!" As the second word escaped his lips, he backhanded Yosuke across the face, and the sound of the impact echoed in the otherwise deathly silent room.

Elize whimpered in the corner, and were Yosuke not so focused on the pain in his cheekbone, he'd have tried to comfort her. His whole face felt like it was on fire, and he turned his eyes to glare up at Adachi. He had a feeling he'd have been hit no matter what his answer had been.

"W-why didn't you put us in the TV?" Elize asked meekly, and Yosuke immediately wanted to tell her not to talk right now. The last thing he wanted was for Adachi to turn on her.

But he did. There was a noticeable shift in Adachi's demeanor when he turned to look at Elize. He looked almost like the goofy, friendly Adachi he'd been back when the team was in high school. He looked at Elize and shrugged a shoulder. "We need to buy a little time, but we wanted to make sure that we could get all of your friends into the other world from a certain place. Making them panic and having one or two of you go missing? That's the only way we could really think of."

Yosuke chuckled derisively. "Won't happen. One of the rules of the group is that we always go in from Junes. Even if they figure out that we're here, they won't come here to get in." At least he hoped not.

Rolling his eyes, Adachi shrugged again. "Rules of the group. Right. I'm sure your precious Jude will be able to keep his head on straight when he knows that you're inside a TV here," he taunted. "Well if they don't, then we'll still have the upper hand, because they'll have to fight to get to you without their new 'leader' and their 'best healer,' won't they?" he asked, shifting back into psycho mode as he talked to Yosuke.

"Jude will keep his head." Yosuke spat. Or maybe he wouldn't. But even if he didn't, the others would keep him level. "And if you don't think they can take whatever shadows you put between us and them, then you're stupider than I-"

Another backhand to the face stopped Yosuke mid-sentence. "Shut up," he seethed.

Laughing once, Yosuke shook his head no. "No," he spoke confidently. The other side of his face was on fire now, too, but he couldn't bring himself to shut up. "I won't." This man... _these_ men had been taunting them for years now. They thought that the rest of the team would be stupid enough to put themselves at risk just because Yosuke and Elize had been kidnapped?

Elize made another whimper noise, and Yosuke could see the tears streaming down her cheeks. His grandstanding might have been scaring her a little bit. Worrying her. He blinked a couple of times and looked down at the floor. "Let Elize go." He looked back up at Adachi.

Snorting a laugh, Adachi leaned sideways against the wall. "And why in the hell would I do that, Hanamura? Who's the stupid one _now_?" he asked, rolling his eyes and turning to leave the room. "Make yourself comfortable, kids," he taunted them. "You're going to be here for a little while, I imagine." 

When Adachi disappeared out the door, after a few seconds of silence, Yosuke looked up at Elize and bit his lip. "I'm sorry, Elize." He struggled against the zip ties that held his hands behind his back in the chair, but it did little more than dig the plastic into his skin.

"N-no, it's okay. _I'm_ sorry," she blinked a couple of tears out of her eyes. "I wanted to scream when Souji had me, but he told me not to. He also... h-he also told me that I'd be okay, though, which... which was really weird."

Yosuke hummed thoughtfully and raised a shoulder in a shrug. Thinking back, Ken and Elize's note had been in Souji's handwriting, hadn't it? Was it Souji who thought they "weren't part of the team?" Truthfully, Ken and Elize hadn't _really_ done anything to Souji. He'd already been in jail when they joined the team, when Adachi put them into the TV. So, maybe he _hadn't_ been trying to call them dead weight. Maybe he actually did want to protect them. But they were part of the team, even if Souji didn't believe that they'd done anything "wrong."

So, what had Souji meant by telling Elize that she'd be okay?

"Does your face hurt?" she asked him.

Yosuke just shook his head no. It did, but he didn't really want to focus too much on that right now. Honestly, he couldn't. His mind was going in a thousand different directions, questions and worries and wondering exactly what was going to come of the situation they were in.

Elize was watching him intently, and she bit her lip. "What are you thinking?" she asked.

He struggled against the zip ties again, trying to pull the plastic away from where it was digging into his skin, then shrugged one shoulder. "I'm wondering what he meant by that. By telling you that you'd be okay." Admittedly, knowing that they didn't plan to hurt her, or at least that _Souji_ didn't, was comforting.

"I'll tell you what I meant," Souji's voice filled the room before he walked in. He stopped behind Yosuke and tightened the restraints on his wrists a little bit. "Stop struggling. You've already broken your skin. You're bleeding and you're only making it worse." There was no real hint of concern in his voice, he was just stating a fact.

Yosuke hissed in pain at the feeling of the restraints tightening against his already-raw wrists, and glowered at Souji. "Well why'd you tighten them, then?" he hissed.

Ignoring Yosuke's question completely, Souji walked over behind Elize and reached underneath his coat for something. The room was quiet, and Elize looked over at Yosuke with panic in her eyes. She was very obviously afraid of what Souji was planning to do behind her, but after a few more quiet seconds, the room filled with the sound of the _snip_ of scissors.

Elize's eyes were still wide, and she looked over her shoulder at Souji. "Wh-what are..."

Souji walked around her and snipped the restraints holding her ankles to the chair she was sitting in. "I told you that you'd be okay," he said in a monotone voice. He stepped away from her and over to the window, pushing it open. "You can't leave through the front door. Adachi left to go to the gas station a few minutes ago, but he left from the other side of the house."

She blinked a couple of times and looked from Souji to Yosuke. "Wh-what about Yosuke?" she asked.

But Souji just shook his head no.

"I'm not leaving without Yosuke," she insisted.

Yosuke gave her an insistent look. "Elize, it's okay." If she left now, she could tell the others where he was.

"But-"

Souji nodded at the window. "There's not a lot of time left, Lutus."

"It's okay, Elize," Yosuke repeated.

Her eyes were lined with tears, and she ran up to Yosuke, hugging him around the neck. "I... I'm going to come back," she insisted. "With Jude and Ken and Rise and Naoto the others. We're going to save you." The last part was added as a whisper, but a panicked whisper. He was sure that Souji could still hear her.

"I know," Yosuke responded quietly. "It's okay. Go ahead."

Elize still looked hesitant, but she nodded once and walked over to the window. She looked up at Souji, then over her shoulder at Yosuke, before blinking hard, breathing in deep and climbing out the window. When her feet hit the ground, Souji didn't hesitate before closing the window behind her and pulling the curtain down most of the way. Yosuke watched Elize take off in a half-jog, away from the house and toward the bus stop. If she was headed toward Moel, and Adachi was headed toward Moel, he had to hope that she was smart enough to stay out of his sight.

It was almost completely dark in the room now, but barely bright enough for Yosuke to see Souji walking past him, and toward the door. "Hey!" Yosuke called out, before he reached the door. "Why'd you let her go? You know she's gonna go tell the others, don't you?" he asked.

"I do," Souji replied simply.

Yosuke wiggled his fingertips and winced against the pain in his wrists. "Then why did you let her go? Adachi will be mad, won't he?"

With a shrug, Souji leaned down and picked the cut zip ties up off of the floor. Without another word, he stepped outside of the doorway. He reached down and grabbed the doorknob, then finally broke his silence, "maybe I'm just tired, Yosuke." And with that, he swung the door closed.

Tired? Yosuke pondered that for a few moments, before turning to look from the closed door to the window. He'd let Elize go because he was tired. Part of him thought that he understood what that meant, but the rest of him knew better than to think he understood anything about Souji anymore. He hadn't understood anything about Souji for years now.

Now that he was alone in the dark and dusty room, Yosuke felt a little bit of fear rising in his chest. It was good that Elize was safe now, of course it was good. And he'd rather be here by himself than have Elize in danger with him. If she got to the others, she'd be safe. And he trusted her to remember where the house was. They'd come for him, wouldn't they? Whether it was a good idea or not, they'd come for him.

Now all he had to do was wait.


	16. Desperation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jude is reminded that the rules are a little different outside of the TV world.

**April 6th, 2016**

"His cell phone..." Jude muttered as he stared at the familiar cell phone on the ground. He didn't reach for it; he wasn't supposed to touch anything, after all. "Naoto! I found Yosuke's cell phone!"

The whole afternoon had been like something out of a nightmare. Ken's appearance at the inn, panicking because Elize hadn't returned his texts or phone calls, had raised another alarm. He'd already been on alert, because _Yosuke_ hadn't returned any of _his_ texts or phone calls. If it had been a work day, Jude wouldn't have thought anything of it. Yosuke was always busy when he worked, after all. But it wasn't. And even if it _was_ a work day, 'what do you want for dinner' texts were always high on the 'priority response' list for Yosuke. No matter what he was doing. Even mid-shift, he'd take a second to tell Jude what he wanted to eat, especially now that he'd started working at the inn.

He hadn't wanted to seem paranoid. He'd spent the past hour or so trying to convince himself that it wasn't outside of the realm of possibility that Yosuke and Elize had gone to a movie or something. Somewhere that they couldn't answer their cell phones. Now though, with Yosuke's cell phone on the ground in front of him, the sense of dread in the pit of his stomach was threatening to take him over, and convincing himself that everything was okay was near impossible.

When he raised his head to see Naoto approaching, he saw her carrying the very same picnic basket he'd packed earlier that day for Yosuke and Elize, and it felt like his stomach was sinking to his feet. The two guitars that Yosuke and Elize used to practice lay abandoned on the ground, and his heart felt like it was in a compress. He knew for a fact that Yosuke wouldn't leave his guitar out unless he had a reason.

Jude felt his panic rising even higher as Naoto approached and leaned down to pick Yosuke's phone up from the ground. "Six new messages and three missed calls," she pointed out after she'd unlocked the screen. "Elize's phone was on the ground underneath the picnic blanket, too. So they had to leave in a hurry."

So, whatever had happened, it had happened before any of Jude's messages. But what had happened? What had happened to make them leave everything they had on them behind? "We have to find them..." Jude said, as if it was even a question to the rest of them.

"But we don't even know where to start looking..." Ken pointed out, an equal amount of panic in his voice.

Jude turned his head to look at Ken, and bit his lip. "We can file a missing person's report. Isn't that what people usually do in this situation?" he asked, turning his attention toward Naoto for an answer.

When Naoto didn't answer immediately, Jude almost pleaded with her to say something. But she looked up at Jude and shook her head no. "No. Unfortunately, we can't legally file a missing person's report until they've been missing for forty eight hours, Jude." Her tone suggested that she didn't like saying it as much as Jude didn't like hearing it.

But that wasn't possible. Jude's eyes widened. "Forty eight _hours_?" he asked incredulously. "We can't do anything until they've been gone for _two days_?" The panic had risen again, and rested squarely in his stomach now.

Naoto frowned. "I know that this must be difficult for you two. I don't like it either. The inaction of that particular rule has never settled well with me," she told him as she pulled a plastic bag from her coat pocket. "But it's an unfortunate truth of the legal system." She gave a soft sigh.

Staring blankly when Naoto slid Yosuke's phone into the plastic bag, Jude breathed in slowly. Yosuke's phone was evidence. Something about that concept resonated with him, and he had to turn and look away. "So... I'm supposed to sit here and do nothing while Yosuke and Elize are..." He trailed off. He didn't want to complete that thought.

Ken looked up at him and shook his head no. "Not nothing. We can..." Ken paused, digging into his pocket for his phone, "we can use pictures and ask people in town if they've seen them. Can't we?" He looked from Naoto to Jude.

Naoto hummed thoughtfully. "Yes. That's a marvelous idea, Ken," she told him with a nod. "We can tell the others, and if we stick together, but split up just within different neighborhoods, we can canvas the whole town in no time." She placed a hand on Ken's shoulder. "Well done," she told him.

But Ken wasn't smiling, and Jude completely understood why.

She cleared her throat and turned around. "I'll go get the others," she told them calmly, and headed over to the remains of the picnic.

Asking around town was a good idea. Jude couldn't poke any holes in it. But it still felt too much like sitting around doing nothing for his taste. If Jude went missing, Yosuke would turn the whole town over himself. He knew it. But he wouldn't say as much to Ken. As hard as it would be, Naoto was right. Legally, there was nothing they could do at this point.

"It... it'll be okay, Ken," Jude offered, desperately trying to hide how uncertain he was of his own words. "We'll find them."

Ken returned his gaze, nodding his head securely. "I know. I was just about to tell you that, because you don't look so sure." He breathed a sigh, before turning to look down at his phone and scrolling through it for a picture of Elize.

Did Jude look unsure? He'd always been bad with hiding his feelings. "I guess I'm not," he muttered under his breath.

It wasn't that he didn't think the team could do it. So far, they'd faced down every challenge that had been thrown at them. This would be no different, he had to hope. But for the past few weeks, Jude had waited for something to come along and pull the rug out from under him. Losing Yosuke was definitely exactly that. Without Yosuke, he wouldn't have been able to make all the progress he'd made over the past few weeks. Without Yosuke... _No. No, stop that. He's missing, but he's still out there. If he wasn't, you'd know it. You'd feel it. Wouldn't you?_ That was how things like this always went in movies. Jude felt his _absence_ , but not that he was truly gone.

"I am, but I'm not," Jude chuckled halfheartedly.

Ken nodded and chewed on his lip. "I know. Me too, Jude," he explained.

After a couple of silent seconds, Jude reached out and pulled Ken to him for a hug. "We'll find them." It was a complete one-eighty from what he'd just said, but if he wanted to convince Ken of it, he needed to convince himself first. And if he wanted to convince himself, he needed to start _trying_ to convince himself.

When the group got together, they agreed to start at the flood plain. It was the first really nice evening of the year; the weather was warm and there was no rain predicted for the next week, at least. Because of that, Jude honestly expected the flood plain to be bustling. People fishing, people going for walks or picnicking like Elize and Yosuke had been. There was none of it. Sure, there were people there, but not even close to the number the he'd been expecting. There was an old man down by the fishing rocks, a middle-aged woman feeding a group of kittens, a young couple sitting in the grass on the hill and a few teenagers playing baseball in the field.

They'd agreed to split up a little bit. Into two groups of four. Yukiko, Teddie and Kanji went with Naoto, while Rise and Chie went with Jude and Ken. The team split up seemed good. Besides, he wasn't going to complain about having Rise with him at the moment. Outside of Yosuke, she was the best at helping him calm down when things were rough. Maybe, he surmised, that was exactly why Naoto had split them that way. Whether she admitted it or not, she was good with knowing what to do in situations like this. Ken was another anchoring factor, even if it was slightly more difficult to remind himself that it would be okay, with Ken's barely concealed panic right alongside his own.

Ken had recognized one of the boys playing baseball as a friend from the soccer team, and Naoto had agreed that it was reason enough for the four of them to head that direction. It honestly took all Jude had into him not to take off in a run. Every second they wasted walking was a second longer that they didn't know where Yosuke and Elize were, and it made him more and more nervous.

Rise let Ken and Chie take the lead and talk to the boys, and she put her hand on Jude's shoulder. "Are you okay, Jude?" she asked him. "I can tell that you're about to burst."

Jude didn't look up at first, just shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah..." he lied. But it was pointless, because Rise always saw through him when he lied. "No. Not really. I'm scared. Worried sick. But Ken... I have to keep myself together for Ken." He pressed his lips together for a second, then breathed deeply. "Wherever he is... Yosuke is smarter than he gives himself credit for, so I think he can survive anything that... I know he'll be okay. And Elize isn't weak either. So, she'll keep him safe too..." he paused for a second, "they have to, Rise. They have to be okay." As much as he tried, he couldn't stop the emotion he felt from leaking into his voice. He swallowed back tears.

With a nod, Rise turned Jude to her and hugged him. "I know," she told him quietly.

"He's the most important thing in the world to me, Rise." He hugged her back and breathed in a deep sigh. "And Elize is like family to me, too. We have to... we've got to find them."

In an abrupt motion, and seemingly out of nowhere, Rise moved away from the hug. Maybe Jude was sniveling a little bit too much. But Rise had never told him anything like that before, so he didn't expect her to now. Jude looked at her in surprise, which only grew when he saw her staring at the horizon. "R-Rise?" he called, a little surprised at the sudden shift.

She took off in a half-run toward her target, and Jude turned his eyes to follow her gaze. "Elize!" Rise shouted as she ran up to their young friend, who was running toward them and waving her arms frantically.

The simple sound of that name got Jude, Ken _and_ Chie's attention, and the three of them took off in a sprint toward her. It _was_ Elize! In Ken's desperation to get to her first, he ran faster than Jude, Chie and he even managed to pass _Rise_. He pulled Elize into his arms and hugged her tightly, and didn't even bother to hide his tears. Once he got a closer look, he noticed that she was crying too. That definitely settled the fact that something serious had happened. Not that it needed settling to begin with.

Jude hurried up to the pair of them and hugged them both. "Elize," he murmured into the hug. "Are you okay?"

She nodded. "I'm okay," she told him.

Ken was murmuring words of gratitude and relief down to Elize, but Jude found his worry growing, instead of shrinking. Of course he was glad that Elize was safe. She was his family, and he'd meant it when he said it. But he'd expected to find them both at the same time. To the right of them, Chie was pulling her cell phone out and sending a text to one of the others--likely Yukiko or Naoto--to tell them that Elize was back. A part of him felt guilty for this, but he turned his worried eyes to Elize, swallowing nervously.

"Is Yosuke with you?" he asked, guilt rising at having to break up the reunion.

He expected Ken to be mad at him for breaking up the reunion, but was surprised when he nodded his adamant agreement. "Is he?" he asked her. "He went missing too, and-"

Elize nodded her head. "He... he was. But he's not now," she muttered, wiping her red-rimmed eyes with her wrist. "W-we were practicing and eating, and S-Souji and Adachi showed up." She looked up at Jude. "Yosuke told me to run, and I did, but... but I couldn't run fast enough." She turned her eyes down toward the ground. "Souji caught me, and... and Yosuke," she sniffled, "tried to get him to let me go. But Adachi threatened him to shoot one of us unless he came too. He... he got taken trying to protect me. I'm sorry, Jude." As soon as she finished speaking, she started crying again.

Jude didn't hesitate before reaching over and scooping Elize into his arms. "No, no, don't blame yourself, Elize, okay?" He pulled back from the hug and crouched down a little bit to look her in the eye. "Is he... is he alright? How did you escape? Did he escape, too?" he asked. There was a momentary flash of guilt at the possibility of overwhelming her, but it was easy to push that aside in light of his panic and worry.

The brief glimmer of hope was quashed just as quickly as it had appeared when Elize shook her head no. "Souji let me go, but he wouldn't let Yosuke go too," she sniffled, leaning her head against Jude's shoulder and sniffling again.

Before Jude could respond, Chie spoke up in the background. "Wait, Souji let you go?" she asked, looking at Elize with wide eyes.

Elize nodded. "I'm not sure why or if he was supposed to. I'm sorry Jude," she repeated. "I didn't wanna go without Yosuke but he wouldn't let me stay and-"

But Jude didn't want her to apologize, so he just hugged her again and shook his head no. "Of course he wouldn't let you stay," he said softly. He wanted to smile. He wanted to be able to comfort Elize better, but this was more or less a confirmation of his worst fear.

Jude was only partially aware when Naoto and the others rushed up to the group. He heard snippets of the conversation when Naoto knelt in front of Elize and asked her a few gently worded questions about what had happened when Souji took her. All he could think about was that his worst fears had come true. Yosuke was with Adachi and Souji. They'd kidnapped him. They had him and he was alone. However, when Elize told Naoto and Chie that he _wasn't_ inside the TV, Jude snapped to attention and looked at her, another flash of worry lighting in his chest. He was alive, and he wasn't in the TV. So, he could be anywhere.

"Do you remember where he is?" Jude asked desperately. "Where you were?"

With an adamant nod, Elize pointed over the hill and to the shopping district. "It's somewhere around the shopping district!" she told them seriously. "I can show you, if you follow me!" Without another second's hesitation, she grabbed Jude and Ken each by a wrist and started running toward the shopping district.

Later, Jude was sure that he'd feel terrible about not making sure that Elize went to the hospital. And he was sure that later, he'd kick himself for being so single-minded. But he couldn't help it right now. If roles were reversed, Yosuke would have turned the whole town on its head looking for him, he knew it. If he didn't do the same, he would never forgive himself.

The walk to the shopping district had never seemed this long before. He turned to look at Elize next to him, breathing in deeply and trying to steel his emotions. "I've been... I haven't asked..." He wet his lips. The guilt was finally taking the reins. "Are you okay, Elize?" he asked. He had asked. He knew he had. But he meant it differently this time.

Looking up at him in surprise, Elize nodded her head. "I'm... yeah, I'm okay," she nodded her head. "Souji promised me when he grabbed me that they wouldn't hurt me. And they didn't." She looked down at the ground.

"But I don't think that's what Jude meant," Ken pointed out. "Just because they didn't hurt you physically doesn't mean that you're okay."

Elize looked up at Jude for confirmation, and when Jude nodded, she sighed. "I dunno. It was really scary. Not because they hurt me, because like I said, they didn't. But they..." She stopped abruptly, and looked from Ken to Jude, chewing on her lip in obvious anxiety.

"They what?" Ken asked.

At first, Jude honestly didn't want her to answer. The look on her face was worrisome. But he'd asked, and as much as he _didn't_ want to know... he did. "They what?" Jude repeated encouragingly.

She ran a hand through her hair and swallowed nervously. "They did hurt Yosuke. Adachi hit him a couple times. Yosuke tried to be brave, and Adachi hit him." She looked down at the ground. "They had us tied up with those plastic handcuff thingies and Yosuke kept trying to get out. I saw his wrists when I left. They were all raw and cut and bleeding." She shook her head sharply.

Ken put his arm around her and pulled her close. "It's okay, Elly."

And Jude nodded. "You didn't do anything wrong by leaving. Because you came to get us, we'll... we know where he is now, right?" he offered with a half-smile. He hoped he was being reassuring.

If Jude didn't sound certain, it wasn't intentional. Usually, in situations like this it was Yosuke who pulled him out of himself. Yosuke who got him to see how possible a situation was, whether he believed it or not. Without Yosuke, it was difficult to cast aside the panic. But Elize was feeling guilty enough without his help. Pulling in a deep breath and letting the fresh air fill his lungs, he held it in for a second and then released it slowly, raising his head to look at the sky. If he wanted to save Yosuke from whatever Souji and Adachi were doing to him, he had to keep his head. He had to stay level; had to stop freaking out. At least for now.

His resolution found, Jude turned to look at Elize and put a hand on her shoulder. "We'll save him. No matter what it takes," he told her. Because that much he could assure her was true. Jude would do whatever was in his power to make sure that Yosuke was safe.

Walking along the shopping district was far more awkward now than it used to be. Jude felt his eyes wandering toward his parents' clinic, and he inwardly dreaded the possibility that his father would come out. It wouldn't matter if he did. Nothing in the world was going to divert Jude from his course. He knew, of course, that none of his friends would let his father say anything, but it didn't change the fact that it wasn't something Jude really wanted to deal with right now. 

Fortunately, it seemed like it wasn't an issue, because they weren't going to get close enough to the clinic for it to matter. Elize guided them through a side alley between two businesses, and stopped them about a hundred feet down from a run down, abandoned-looking house. "It was that house," Elize pointed. 

Jude didn't wait for an okay from anyone. He ran out in front of the group, pausing only when, from about fifty feet away, he heard a loud crash and some shouting coming from the house in question. From this distance, he couldn't make out specific voices, but hearing any kind of voice like that was alarming enough for him. When he got to the backyard, he heard Elize call out, "that's the window I climbed out of," as she pointed at the window Jude was standing next to.

Without another word, Jude reached his hands out and pushed on the window, trying to open it, but it didn't budge at all. It was covered most of the way with a ragged looking blanket-curtain, but there was a six inch spot that Jude immediately tried to look in through. He couldn't see anything inside. The room was completely pitch dark, aside from the small stream of light from the hole Jude was using to peer in.

"Can you see anything?" Chie asked him as she approached with the rest of the group.

Shaking his head no, Jude stepped back. "Not from here. Let's break the window." He _needed_ to get in there.

The suggestion was met mostly with shocked expressions, and a disapproving glare from Naoto. "If we break the window, and Adachi and Souji are still in there, it'll alert them and they might hurt Yosuke." She reached into her messenger bag and fished around a little bit.

"Besides that," Chie added, "if they're not in there, we're breaking and entering." This wasn't the TV world, she was essentially saying. The rules were different.

Naoto pulled a flashlight out of her bag and walked up to the window. Covering one side of her peripheral vision as she looked inside, she held the flashlight up to the other side and took a look around the room. "I can't see anything, but it does look like there were signs of struggle here. A chair is tipped over on the northeast corner of the room, and it appears that an old entertainment center on the west wall has been knocked over." She turned the flashlight off and put it back in her messenger bag.

Swallowing thickly, Chie turned and looked at Naoto for a minute, before biting her lip and turning to look at Elize. "You're _sure_ this was the house, Elly?" she asked, taking her hat off and running a hand through her hair.

Elize nodded.

"I think the shouting that we just heard more than proves that, too," Naoto pointed out.

Chie turned her attention back to Naoto and nodded around the corner. "We should try and go through the front door, then. I mean, even if she's wrong, which I'm sure she's not," she flashed Elize an attempt at a comforting look, "Adachi and Souji still escaped from jail. Which means that we can still arrest them." She turned her attention to Kanji. "What do you two think?"

With a nod, Kanji walked out into the front of the group. "Think we should pick the lock, though. If we bust the door down, they might freak out and hurt Yosuke." As soon as Kanji spoke, he winced and looked apologetically at Jude.

Jude didn't want to wait anymore. Kanji's declaration that they may hurt Yosuke if they busted the door down was more than enough for him, and he hurried out in front of the rest of the group, toward the front yard. Every second that they stood there talking about it was another second that Yosuke was alone with the people who had tried to kill both Jude _and_ Yosuke several times. He walked up to the door and stopped, glancing down at the doorknob. Busting in might get Yosuke hurt, and that was the only thing that stopped him. Closing his eyes tightly to blink back tears, he turned around sharply to wait for Naoto. Helpless. He felt completely helpless.

He stepped down the stairs and looked down at the ground. As Naoto walked by, she put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed lightly. "It's okay, Jude," she told him, before looking through her bag for her lockpicks.

But Jude didn't say anything. It didn't _feel_ okay. He turned his back to the stairs, so that he wouldn't have to watch Naoto pick the lock. From the corner of his eye, he spotted Ken fussing over Elize, making sure that he was okay, and he managed a sad smile. 

"Guys," Chie called out to everyone. "The door wasn't locked."

With a nod, Kanji waited for Naoto and Chie to take position on either side of him with their guns out. "Stay out here until we clear the area, everyone," he told them.

Not for the first time since this whole ordeal started, Jude found himself wishing that this was happening inside the TV, so he could just go in there with the others. _The rules are different. Yosuke's stuck somewhere, whether it's here or somewhere else, and you're stuck waiting and letting the others do the work for you._

As perceptive as ever, Rise seemed to pick up on the fact that Jude was beating himself up. She walked up beside him, putting a hand on his shoulder and squeezing gently. "It'll be alright," she reminded him.

He frowned and breathed a heavy sigh. "What do you think that crash was, Rise?" he asked her, chewing on his lip and looking down at the ground. "It was coming from this house, so it had to be them." 

She stood in front of him and put her hands on his shoulders. "Don't think too hard about it, Jude. Just have faith in Yosuke, okay? Like, think about it this way. Whatever it was, Yosuke is probably fighting as hard as he can to make sure that he's okay when you find him," she told him as she pulled him to her in a hug. "So, you've gotta tough it out and keep your head together, so you make it to him in one piece. Right?" She pulled back and looked in him the eye.

Jude knew that she was right. Of course she was. Rise was generally right about things like this. But it was easier said than done.

"Jude," Rise shook his shoulders gently. "It'll be okay. I can feel it."

As much as Jude was embarrassed to admit it, hearing Rise say that made him feel a little bit better. He gave her a sad smile and nodded his head. "Thanks, Rise," he mumbled, pulling her to him in a light hug.

It was then that Chie appeared at the door, beckoning for them to come into the house. "It's clear, you guys. And you're gonna want to see this," she told them, the tone in her voice serious and a little dismal.

Whatever _this_ was, Jude wasn't sure, judging by the tone in Chie's voice, that he wanted to see it. Despite that, though, the group of them filed into the run down house, and followed Chie through it. Jude couldn't help but look around as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. It looked like this was where Souji and Adachi had been hiding out all along. The living room looked far more livable than the outside of the house did. A couch, chairs, a television, a cork-board with a bunch of papers and pushpins on it... at the very least, they'd been here for awhile.

He passed a couple of comfortably stocked bedrooms, and looked up to see Kanji directing him into a room. "Don't come too far in here, though. Naoto's looking some things over."

The room in question was trashed. It must have been the room Naoto had mentioned, because there was a tipped chair and a fallen entertainment center. And not only was the chair tipped over, but all four legs were broken off and strewn across various points in the room. Apparently, they hadn't been able to see that from outside. Aside from that, there was a cut, bloody zip tie on the floor, and a two inch pool of still fresh blood, with several small droplets around it. The chair had a bit of blood on the leg, as well, and the helpless feeling jumped back up into Jude's stomach. "Wh-what did they do to him?" he couldn't keep himself from saying.

"Kanji, Jude, can you please lift this?" Naoto asked, pointing to the entertainment center.

But Jude was only half paying attention. His mind was painting a picture that was far worse than anything he could have imagined. Whose blood was that? And the bloody zip ties... _what in the hell happened here?_ he asked himself. Where was Yosuke? He wasn't anywhere in the house, was he? Or Naoto, Kanji and Chie would have found him. So where had they taken him?

A soft but stern voice pulled him from his thoughts. "Jude?" Naoto was in front of him now, blocking his view of the blood pool.

Jude blinked. "S-sorry. The entertainment center, right?" He swallowed thickly and carefully made his way over to the side opposite Kanji, and the pair of them easily stood the entertainment center back up straight again.

The whole thing must have been relatively empty, except for... "A TV!" Teddie shouted from the doorway.

More droplets of blood led up to where the TV lay face down on the floor, and Jude couldn't help but turn his head away and close his eyes. Terrible images played out in his head, about whose blood that could be, and about how it had been drawn. And now... "they're in there, aren't they?" he asked, his voice quiet and desperate.

Naoto leaned down and, with her gloved hands, stood the TV up. "It would appear so," she confirmed softly, reaching down to the floor under where the TV had been and picking something up.

When she displayed the item in her hands to everyone, Jude felt ill. "Yosuke's headphones..." he whispered.

"But does this mean that the crash we heard was all of this happening?" Yukiko asked, gesturing broadly to the room around them. "The... the blood on the floor looks fresh and it's really dusty in here, like a whole lot of old dust was kicked up recently."

Naoto nodded her head. "I think you're absolutely right, Yukiko," she agreed.

The longer they stood here and talked, though, the longer Yosuke was trapped on the other side with Souji and Adachi. It was taking every bit of willpower that Jude had not to dive into the TV right then and there, and to swoop in and save Yosuke from Souji and Adachi. lt seemed like Kanji caught onto that, because he went from watching Jude intently to taking a look around the room. Then, he cleared his throat, getting the attention of everyone else in the room.

"Well, we know where they are. Let's go after them."


	17. Bravery

**April 6th, 2016**

At some point, Yosuke started wondering what time it was. With the sun on the other side of the house, his beam of light from the window was fading quickly, and although it wasn't dark... it was getting harder to see in the room. Ever since Souji had let Elize go, Yosuke had been alone with nothing but his thoughts, and some troublesome thoughts they'd been. Jude definitely knew he was missing now. How was he handling it? Was he okay? Yosuke had to hope that Rise and the others were managing to keep him level, but Yosuke knew that, were roles reversed, he'd be a wreck. Jude was stronger than he was, though. He had to be doing better.

And what about Elize? Had she found her way back to the group yet? Was _she_ okay? When Adachi got back to the room to find Elize gone, he'd seemed convinced that it was Yosuke who'd somehow freed her. When Yosuke had tried to convince him that, no, it was Souji, he'd been met with another backhand to the face. He was pretty sure, at this point, that his right cheek was nothing but a giant bruise, but as long as Adachi didn't chase after Elize, he didn't care. And as long as Elize was with the group, she'd be safe.

Shaking his head to dispel his worries, he stared down at the floor. Once again, he found himself wondering how long he'd been here. It had to have been a few hours. He shifted his position a little bit to try and get a better look out the window, but the throbbing burn of moving his wrists around too much made him writhe a little bit more.

"Fuck," he hissed, trying to over-correct his position a little too quickly and sending his chair on a tumble to the floor. The jarring movement made the plastic brush against his raw wrists again, and he couldn't hold back a whimper in response. There was going to be some permanent scarring. He knew it.

As painful as the landing was, though, it provided him with an opportunity. The new position opened up a brand new range of movement. It would be painful... but Yosuke could _probably_ lift his arms over the top of the chair. When he was sitting up, he couldn't. Or maybe he could have, but it would have been a lot harder. But the floor gave him a little bit of extra leverage. He grunted, bending his right elbow a little bit and bending his back to the left, raising the underside his bent elbow _just_ above the back of the chair. His shoulder would probably hurt later. It hurt _now_ , for that matter, and he let out another pained grunt in light of that, but he was a little closer than he had been to freedom.

 _No pain, no gain,_ he reminded himself, as he quickly jerked his body to the left, running his arm along the top of the chair. The old wood splintered off into the skin on the underside of his elbow, and he hissed. It hurt. It _really_ hurt. But he had to do it. _Halfway there,_ he told himself. _One more and you'll have it..._

He reared back again, and repeated the motion. Once again, the ratty chair's old wood splintered into his skin, and he grunted in pain. Another thing he'd have to take care of later, when he got out of here. _If_ he got out of here. But he'd done it. His range of movement had doubled, at least. And he'd managed to do it without alerting Adachi or Souji, which was _definitely_ a plus.

The chair was so old and so rickety... Yosuke looked at its legs and bit his lip. Of course there were metal feet on the bottom of the chair so he couldn't just pull his legs away. The restraints wouldn't let him. But that was okay. He had a plan. He used his own leg to test how strong the chair's legs were, grinning triumphantly when he felt them wiggle under a couple of leg-pushes. The chair was a little wiggly with him sitting in it, but his mind hadn't put two and two together until right then. It might be loud, but he had to try. He twisted his torso and wrapped his semi-freed arms around the leg of the rickety chair. This was almost definitely going to hurt. Pulling in a breath, he tugged on the leg of the chair with both of his wrists and his bound leg at the same time.

As he pulled, the zip tie dug into his skin again, and Yosuke grunted a low growl. It took about five seconds of pulling, but eventually, the chair leg broke with a loud _SNAP_. Okay. He'd expected loud, but there was no way that Souji or Adachi hadn't heard that. That meant that if he wanted to free himself completely, he needed to be quick.

Even as he moved his arms to the opposite chair leg, he heard Adachi moving down the hall. "The hell's going on down there?!" he shouted from the other room.

Yosuke's heart pounded as a torrent of thunderous footsteps shook the floor. But once again, he pulled the chair's leg off, and slid the two chair legs out of the restraints. Finally, he could stand. And before Adachi reached the room, Yosuke took stock of which way the door would open, and stood there, up against the wall. _Play it smart..._ he thought.

"I swear to god, Hanamura," Adachi's voice entered the room before he even opened the door.

The door snapping open practically hit Yosuke in the face, but he put his foot out in front of him, stopping it inches before it hit. Maybe not the best idea, because the dull _thump_ sound it made _had_ to have caught Adachi's attention. It seemed like it had, too, because after a few seconds (during which Yosuke's heart thudded _loudly_ in his chest) Adachi grabbed the edge of the door.

It was only his hand, but it was still absolutely terrifying. _Shit, shit, shit..._ Yosuke felt panic rising in his chest, and he did the only thing he could think of to do. He threw his body against the door and knocked it, full strength, into the body on the other side.

When the door stopped, Yosuke took a chance and peered around it to see Adachi sprawled on the floor on the other side of the chair. He was already trying to pick himself up, but he must have hit the ground hard or something, because he wasn't having immediate success. That was good though. If he did get up, it wasn't like Yosuke could properly defend himself with his hands still bound behind his back. He turned and sneaked past the incapacitated Adachi, out the door, down the hall and to the house's tiny kitchen. He needed to find something to cut these zip ties with.

There were a pair of scissors sitting on the counter, and Yosuke recognized them as the ones that Souji had used to free Elize. _How in the hell am I supposed to get them off the counter?_ he asked himself.

Turning around, he stood on his tip toes and reached out as far as he could behind him. His hands _just barely_ made contact with the scissor blades, but it was enough to grab them between his right thumb and index finger and pull them the rest of the way into his hands. He pulled the scissors open and slid one side underneath the zip tie, then bit his lip. His wrists were pressed tightly together, and the zip ties were so low on them that his palms were pressed together, too.

Realization dawned on him. There was no way to do this without cutting his hand, was there? Pulling in a deep breath, Yosuke re-threaded his fingers through the scissor handles and made quick work of closing them. He let out a sharp cry of pain when the scissors caught the bottom of his right palm, but then dropped the scissors to the ground with the zip tie.

His wrists were free. An achy, bloody _mess_ , but free.

Now, he just needed to get out of the house. Turning, Yosuke ran to the door and grabbed the doorknob with his left hand. _Locked._ Of course it was. Turning around, he looked around for other ways out. There was a window across the room, and Yosuke moved toward it, reaching for the lock and pulling it open. But before he could climb outside, he felt a hand clasp around the back of his shirt collar and pull him backward.

"You think you're real fucking clever, don't you, Hanamura?" Adachi seethed as he shoved Yosuke backward and into a nearby wall. Had there been any pictures or any sort of wall decoration, it would have fallen off, but there wasn't anything like that. "Knew I should've locked you in the closet."

The impact of hitting the wall knocked the wind out of Yosuke, but he pulled himself to his feet with a cough. "Don't blame me for your bad planning," he spat.

Snorting a laugh, Adachi took a couple of steps toward Yosuke and grabbed him by the wrist. When Yosuke hissed in pain, Adachi laughed. "Aw, does Hanamura have a little boo-boo? Bet he wishes his little doctor boyfriend was here to kiss it better." He turned Yosuke's arm around behind his back again and kicked him in the calf. "Move it."

What was going to happen now?

After a few steps, Yosuke stopped moving, lifting his right leg and stomping down on Adachi's foot with all his might. When Adachi shoved him forward, he put his hands out in front of himself to brace him for impact, then scrambled into the kitchen. There was no way he could get _past_ Adachi right now, no, but he could at least buy himself time until the others got there, couldn't he? While Adachi wasn't paying attention, Yosuke grabbed the scissors again and tucked them into the left knee-pocket of his cargo pants.

"You little _bitch_!" Adachi seethed. He walked over to Yosuke and picked him up by the collar of the shirt, slamming him into the counter. "If I had my way, I would just fucking _kill_ you _right_ now."

But he wasn't. For some reason or another, Adachi _wasn't_ killing him, and Yosuke had to take it on faith that there was some reason for that. Being slammed into the counter sent a shooting pain through his back, but other than a sharp cry and a painful hiss, he didn't let it show.

Adachi threw him down on the floor, before grabbing him by the hair and pulling him back up to his feet. Turning him back around again, he grabbed him by the right wrist again and started leading him back down the hall. "I can't wait until you and all your little Investigation Team pals are just stains on the floor in the other world, Hanamura. Can't fucking _wait_."

Yosuke snorted a laugh. "We've beaten you every time." Barely. But they had.

And then Adachi chuckled. "That was before. It's different now, Hanamura." He could hear the smirk in Adachi's voice, but didn't get a chance to say anything else before Adachi shoved him down to the floor in the room he'd been in before.

While Adachi walked across the room, probably to get the chair Elize had been tied in, Yosuke took the chance. Reaching into his pocket, he grabbed the scissors and jammed them right into Adachi's thigh. They didn't cut too deep, Yosuke's aching wrists took away quite a bit of the strength he would normally have had, but it was enough to make Adachi yelp in pain and buckle to the floor.

Yosuke was stunned for a second, surprised that it had actually worked, but he pulled himself to his feet and hurried over to the window.

Adachi's hissed breathing stopped, and Yosuke heard the click of Adachi removing the safety on his gun, and he froze. "Stop moving or I fucking shoot you." He pulled the scissors from where they still stuck out of his leg and hobbled over to Yosuke. "Give me one good reason that I shouldn't kill you right now," he threatened.

Swallowing thickly, Yosuke blinked a couple of times. "Because... because you-"

"Because... because I," Adachi mimicked, pressing his gun against Yosuke's chest. He snorted a derisive laugh. "Can't think of one, can you? You're lucky, though. I can't kill you yet." He pulled Yosuke away from the window and pointed to the chair. "Sit your ass back down. I have no fucking clue how you got out before, but you won't be so lucky this time."

Yosuke resigned himself to be stuck in that chair again, and he blinked back white-hot tears that had formed in the corners of his eyes. He'd been _so_ close to escaping, _twice_. But now...

Just as Adachi was leaning down to zip-tie his wrists again, though, Souji burst into the room, holding the bloody zip tie in his hands. "We have to go to the other side. They're almost here. Probably halfway across the shopping district by now," he said to Adachi.

And Adachi stood up. "Finally, Jesus!" He smirked. "Come on. Gotta bring you with us, Hanamura."

Yosuke wasn't going to stand up, but Adachi chuckled once and shrugged a shoulder. "We can do it the hard way, then." He reached out and grabbed Yosuke by the hair, yanking him up and out of the chair. Once Yosuke was standing, Adachi let go of his hair and moved his hand to his wrist again, holding Yosuke in place and pressing the gun against his back again. "Go ahead first, _partner_." That taunting voice didn't escape his attention this time either, but instead of showing any more weakness, he turned his head and looked away.

But Adachi didn't seem to care. He pushed Yosuke into the ratty old entertainment center, and it almost fell over on top of him. "Get in."

Pulling in a deep breath, Yosuke cast a glance out the window and blinked a couple of times when he _just barely_ saw Jude running down the street. They were coming. They'd probably figure out what happened here and then come and get him from Junes. But maybe, _maybe_ , he could keep Adachi stuck on this side. Smirking, he lined his body up in front of the TV, before reaching over to the side of the entertainment center and pulling it toward him.

As it teetered in place, Yosuke leaned forward and took the familiar fall into the TV. What he _didn't_ expect, though, was for Adachi to quickly dive in immediately behind him. _Well that backfired._

He hit the ground and rolled out of the way quickly to prevent Adachi from landing on top of him. Slowly, he pulled himself to his feet and looked around. He'd been here before. The twisted shopping district. It was right next to where he'd faced his shadow the first time. Right next to where Saki had died. In fact, the swirling red portal to the shadow world's Konishi Liquors was right in his periphery. But he didn't take the time to appreciate the scenery, because right in front of him, Adachi was pulling himself to his feet.

"Trying to leave me behind on the other side, huh?" Adachi coughed as he pulled himself to his feet.

Shrugging a shoulder, Yosuke chuckled once. "Thought my friends might want to see you," he seethed. He could taunt a little bit in here. Even _without_ his nata, he wasn't defenseless.

Souji stood nearby, then walked over to help Adachi stand steady. "We should bring him into the liquor store."

Once he was standing straight, Adachi looked at him and shook his head no. "No, we should bring him to her place. She'll be there soon." He nodded off to the southeast.

But Souji shook his head no. "No. I don't think we should rush to get them over there. Besides, she told me a little while ago that she blocked it off. We won't be able to get there until all of his friends get here. We're supposed to lead them to her, remember?" he asked. "Them. Not just him."

"I dunno about you, but I'm _tired_ of playing by her rules."

She? Her? Who exactly were they talking about with the "she" and "her" business? Yosuke found himself wondering exactly who "she" was, but he didn't get the chance to ask. Adachi was turning on him now, with that familiar manic look in his eyes. "Doesn't matter. We can have fun with him while we wait," he mused.

Souji watched Adachi for a couple of seconds, before saying, "we're not supposed to kill any of them. Him included."

Adachi rolled his eyes, then turned to look at Souji. "I know. Christ, don't worry. I'm not going to kill any of them." He turned back to Yosuke now. "But you'd be really surprised what you can live through, huh, Hanamura?" he raised his eyebrows.

And then, the atmosphere changed. Not physically. The other side was still very much the same. But the _emotional_ atmosphere was very different. Adachi called forth his tarot card and backhand slapped it, shooting a lightning pillar at Yosuke.

Yosuke dodged out of the way, before flashing Adachi a smirk of his own. It wasn't going to be as easy as Adachi thought it was. Dragging his hand vertically down over his face, he felt the familiar tick in his brain of a persona switch. Ishtar. The persona Rise had given him. He healed himself quickly with a diarahan, to remove the pain in his wrists and hand and wherever else he hurt. He switched again, this time to Vishnu, shrouding himself in a makarakarn, and then hitting Adachi with an ice pillar.

"The wild card..." Souji whispered, making his own persona switch and then sending a fire pillar Yosuke's way.

Vishnu was weak to fire, but the makarakarn reflected it back at Souji, who blocked it with whichever persona he was using. He switched, momentarily, to Mada, so that he could block any more fire attacks. "Yes, the wild card," he answered.

Narrowing his eyes, Souji switched personas again, sending a smaller ice pillar Yosuke's way. _That was a bufula, not a bufudyne..._ he thought. And hadn't the fire pillar been an agilao, too? Why wasn't Souji hitting him with more powerful spells? The ice hit Yosuke, and knocked him down, but he picked himself back up quickly and switched back to Vishnu. Something about using the persona Jude had given to him, made him feel like Jude was there with him.

Souji narrowed his eyes and switched personas again, casting a light spell, which Yosuke blocked. Yosuke responded by casting God's Hand, which knocked Souji down onto the floor.

"Why are you _stronger_ than me?" Souji seethed as he picked himself up off of the floor.

But honestly, Yosuke didn't have an answer, because he didn't know himself. A small part of him wondered if, maybe, it had to do with Souji cutting all ties with his friendships while Yosuke was making his stronger, but he didn't say that aloud. He didn't owe Souji any answers.

Yosuke watched as Souji walked over to help Adachi from the ground, and cast a preemptive makarakarn on himself. If both of them were going to be attacking him, he needed to be ready. It would have been easy, he supposed, to attack the pair of them when their backs were turned, but the moment he did that was the moment that he became exactly what they were. So, instead, he braced himself for their inevitable attack.

And when it came, he was glad that he'd prepared. The purple swirl of a mudoon cast and the white cards of a hamaon cast at the same time. The makarakarn reflected the mudoon, and Vishnu blocked the hamaon, and Yosuke was still standing. _But for how long?_ he asked himself.

"I think I'm stronger than you because you let go of every person who gave you strength before," Yosuke told Souji.

Souji stopped and narrowed his eyes. "Blah blah, breaking bonds, blah," he snapped. "That's exactly what Margaret told me. That I was in danger of losing everything I'd earned."

But wasn't he? Slowly but surely, wasn't he losing every single persona he'd gathered over time? Yosuke recoiled when Adachi hit him with a tornado of wind from his left, but responded with a giant ice pilar that made Adachi stumble. "Isn't that what's happening, though?" he asked, finding it easier to keep up with Adachi and talk to Souji, than to fight them both at the same time.

"What do you care?" Souji spat.

Honestly, a couple of years ago, Yosuke probably would have been able to say that he did care. A part of him still did, if he was being honest with himself. Back in 2011, Souji had been the most important person to him, and it was hard to just forget someone like that. But now, even though he did still care, it wasn't in the same way. He cared now, that Souji faced justice for everything that he'd done. He cared now that the ringmaster of all this craziness met their end. _That_ was what he cared about now.

Still, Souji's question hung in the air, and Yosuke shrugged a shoulder in response. "You asked why I was stronger than you. I didn't let go of the people I love. I brought them closer to me. You let them go. That's why I'm stronger. Because I'm fighting for them. Not for... _him_." He made a face as he nodded his chin at Adachi.

"Because you and your justice league are so much better," Adachi seethed. "You're so self-righteous, Hanamura. You. Of all people. Self-righteous."

Yosuke gave a slight emotional recoil at that. He chewed on his lip and shrugged a shoulder. "Maybe I am," he replied. "But I'm still fighting for the people I love. I'm stronger because of everyone. Because of the power they've given me. Right now, I've been fending you both off with a persona from _one person_." Granted, that one person was the most important person in his life... it still said a lot.

And it was in that second that Yosuke saw something that almost made his knees buckle in relief. Over the horizon, he saw a group of familiar silhouettes in black against the yellow of the other side. Jude, with Elize and Ken on either side of him. They went from walking to running (they must have spotted him), and then seconds later, the familiar silhouettes of the rest of his friends appeared. He knew that they'd come. He knew that they'd be there. But seeing them, just knowing that they were close by now, made him feel a hundred times stronger.

"They make you stronger, do they?" Adachi taunted. "Or do they just turn you into a weak idiot?"

Adachi crushed his tarot card and when Yosuke turned, he saw the familiar purple light of a megidolaon forming over his head. In a split second, he was knocked back about five feet, and down to the pavement. The aches in his body that he'd healed moments ago reared their heads again, and all the old pains mixed with the new pains of his crash landing made it hard to get up right away.

It wasn't too long before Jude appeared at his side, falling to his knees and staring at him wordlessly. Those big amber eyes were lined with tears, and Yosuke mustered his strength, sitting up and pulling Jude to him in a hug and pressing a gentle kiss to Jude's cheek. "Jude. I knew you'd come," he whispered.

"Yosuke, you..." Jude stumbled, before tentatively and loosely wrapping his arms around Yosuke. "What did they do to you?"

Yosuke smiled. "It doesn't matter. I'm okay, Jude. You saved me," he told Jude.

Jude shook his head no. "I didn't. You... you saved you." He blinked, and a couple of tears leaked out from the corners of his eyes.

Shaking his head no, Yosuke reached up with his right hand and wiped a couple of tears from Jude's eyes. Jude looked at his wrist and his eyes widened in horror, but Yosuke would explain it all later. Right now... he wanted to tell Jude exactly how he'd been a hero. "The persona you gave me," he mused. "It protected me while I was fighting them off."

But Jude wasn't focused on that. "Your wrists..." he muttered. "Elize told me about-"

"Jude! Yosuke! Look out!" Rise's voice seemed to snap Jude out of his thoughts, and he turned to look just in time to see a lightning strike forming over their heads. The pair of them moved out of the way, and Yosuke watched as Jude pulled himself to his feet. Yosuke stood up, too.

Yosuke nodded toward the group. "We can talk when we take care of this, okay?"

And Jude nodded, as the pair of them took their places with the rest of the group.


	18. Jester

**April 6th, 2016**

"I don't know why you're even trying!" Adachi taunted.

Jude had just hit him with God's Judgement, which sent him straight to the ground. Souji healed him and helped him up, and then came the typical Adachi taunts. Without his gun, without his source of threat, it seemed almost like he went from a tiger to a kitten. Yosuke watched as he turned his glare toward Jude, and a split second of panic and unpleasant memory washed over him. _He doesn't have his gun this time. Souji's personas are weak. They can't... they can't..._ he told himself. But it didn't do much to tamp down his worry.

No one had responded to his taunt yet, but no one was fighting, either. They were all standing there, staring expectantly at Adachi, like they expected him to continue his thought process. But no one said anything, more than likely because they weren't sure they _wanted_ him to.

Snorting a laugh, Adachi turned his eyes on Yosuke and sized him up again. "What, _leader_ , you afraid to know what I'm talking about?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.

Admittedly, everything he'd just been through had Yosuke balking a little bit at that glare. He'd seen that expression many times over the past few hours, and it never meant anything good. He tried not to let it show; he _was_ the leader, and he wanted to be the strong, confident leader that they'd all thought Souji was way back when. But ignoring his fear, ignoring what had happened that day; he couldn't do it. Not yet.

It seemed like Jude sensed his anxiety, though, because within seconds, he'd called Adachi's attention by saying, "what do you mean, Adachi?" His tone wasn't conversational. More a means to an end in this case. They needed information, and Adachi had it. That was it.

"Does it have anything to do with the 'she' you keep mentioning?" Yosuke asked.

The rest of the team turned to look at him in varying degrees of curiosity, with the exception of Elize. She looked surprised, but it was a _different_ kind of surprise. Like Yosuke had just reminded her of something. She blinked twice and turned her head to look at Adachi.

Adachi's response was both expected and not. He turned and looked at the rest of the group's shocked expressions, and a wicked smile crossed his face. It wasn't manic. Actually, it was pretty calm. _Eerily_ calm. "Oh right," he spoke nonchalantly, like it was just a basic musing fact that all of them knew. "Her." He turned his eyes to Souji and shrugged a shoulder. "Want to tell them about her, _partner_?" There was that taunting voice again.

Yosuke wanted to pretend that it didn't hurt. For Jude's sake. Yeah, Yosuke's feelings for Souji were long gone; destroyed after years of betrayal and torment, but he knew that it would still bother Jude. For all the security that Jude had in their relationship now, he was still insecure in his happiness in general. Yosuke knew that bringing him out of that would be an uphill battle, and all old doubts and fears were almost definitely still there, buried underneath his brand new veneer of security. Jude didn't deserve to have those same doubts again after so many years without them; so many years trying to build up his confidence. So, Yosuke definitely wanted to pretend that it didn't hurt. But it did, for a reason entirely unrelated to his former affection for Souji.

When Souji told Adachi those stories, how did he tell them? Did he paint Yosuke as some lovesick puppy that would have followed him anywhere? Yosuke supposed that, back then, the description would have been pretty appropriate. And it did a lot to explain the way Adachi talked to him now. He shook himself out of his spiral when he noticed that Jude was staring at him. Now wasn't the time to over-analyze things.

Pulling in a deep breath, Yosuke turned his eyes toward Souji. "Who is she?" he asked.

"Izanami." That was all Souji said at first, which earned arched eyebrows from everyone but Naoto, Jude, Yukiko and Ken.

The bookworms of the group, of course, understood the reference, but everyone else was relatively in the dark. "The goddess Izanami?" Jude asked, eyes wide in stunned surprise. "The goddess of creation and death is waiting for us?" It seemed, initially, like he was incredulous. But the incredulity faded into worry very quickly.

Souji nodded. "She created this world, and she wants to have a word with all of you," he explained.

"A little more than a word, actually," Adachi lilted.

After a few seconds of quiet pondering, Yukiko pressed her lips together and then looked at Souji. "Izanami and Izanagi were married in the legend, weren't they?" she pondered aloud. It seemed like the question was more of a formality, but it was out there.

And Souji nodded once more in reply. "I'm not married to her, if that's what you're wondering," he told her.

Yukiko narrowed her eyes. "It wasn't," she answered flatly.

Rise tilted her head to the side. "What does the goddess of creation and death want with us, though?" she asked. Idly, Yosuke found himself wondering what it was like for her, seeing Souji now, like this. She seemed to be carrying it well, and Yosuke figured that it had a lot to do with Teddie. Just like his own confidence at the moment had a lot to do with Jude. The thought of Teddie being _anyone's_ pillar of strength like that was almost enough to make him laugh. Almost. But it didn't.

"Yeah, like we're gonna tell you th-"

Souji shrugged a shoulder. "To stop you, because you're the only ones who can stop her." His words were nonchalant, but the look on Adachi's face suggested that he wasn't supposed to tell that much.

And the way Adachi turned his whole body toward Souji, anger radiating off of him in waves, all but solidified that fact. "What the hell?" he seethed.

"Does it really matter, Adachi?" Souji asked with a tilt of his head. "They're gonna be dead anyway, if they go face her. And if they don't-"

Adachi's eyes narrowed, and he took a step toward Souji. " _She_ wanted to tell them that!" he hissed.

If they don't? Was something going to happen again? Dumbstruck into silence, Yosuke just blinked a couple of times and watched Adachi and Souji argue. It seemed like the rest of the team was similarly confused. Sure, they were hardly the portrait of a stable partnership, and sure, it was only a matter of time before a relationship like that crumbled into dust. Even still, Yosuke wasn't sure what he expected to happen, but this wasn't it. And honestly, this was a far cry from what it had been earlier. When they'd had Yosuke kidnapped, hadn't Adachi been the one being so nonchalant about what "she," or Izanami, as Yosuke now knew, wanted? And hadn't _Souji_ been the one who was keen on sticking to her plans? What had changed all of a sudden? Souji's words from earlier rang in his mind. _Maybe I'm tired, Yosuke._ Tired of fighting? Tired of what?

"What will happen if we don't?" Yosuke broke the team's silence, catching Souji and Adachi off-guard in the middle of their argument.

Adachi smirked, that familiar manic smirk, and shrugged a shoulder. "Integration." It seemed like he was back to not caring what "she" wanted again.

It wasn't really an answer. Naoto narrowed her eyes. "Integration of what?" she asked, clearly losing patience with all of these non-answers. That was fair, though. So was Yosuke.

The wicked smile on Adachi's face only grew wider. "The two worlds," he offered nonchalantly.

Gasps and sounds of surprise in varying voices echoed throughout the empty space around them. Jude was the first one to pull himself out of complete and total shock, and he spoke up. "Of this world and the shadow world? Does that mean that shadows would escape? That they'd exist on the other side?" he asked.

Souji nodded.

"Why? I don't understand what the _point_ of all of this is!" Jude continued.

For a moment, Souji was quiet. He looked down at the ground, and then back up at Jude. The vitriol he usually had in his expression when he looked at Jude was muted, too, and that surprised Yosuke even more than what he was saying. He looked... _tired_. Just like he said he was. Almost like someone had physically drained all of the fight out of him. "That, I can't tell you. I don't know what her reasons are, but she does have them," he explained.

"And it _will_ happen," Adachi taunted. All the fight that Souji had, it seemed, had moved straight into Adachi. "Because there's no way in hell you're strong enough to beat her."

Since Souji had let Elize go earlier, Yosuke had noticed marked shifts in his demeanor. He still wasn't the Souji they used to know, no, but he still looked different from the Souji they'd come to expect. His steps weren't energetic, and the fire in his eyes that had made Yosuke fall for him so many years ago looked like it had been stomped out. Even now, as he was supposed to be talking confidently about their "evil plans" or whatever they were, he didn't seem interested in them. Yosuke almost pitied him. He really _was_ tired. He really _was_ ready for everything to be over.

Rise's voice echoed through the silence, with a light chuckle. "Well, you're definitely wrong about that," she mused.

Casting Yosuke a quick glance, Chie smiled confidently and turned her attention back to Adachi. "Yeah!" she exclaimed. "We're a lot stronger now than we used to be! And smarter! Way stronger than when you led us." She punctuated the sentence with a glare at Souji. 

"And besides that! Look what we've managed to do!" Yukiko added with a proud smile.

Adachi snorted a laugh at that. "What? What have you managed to do? Follow all of the false leads, almost get killed about a thousand times..." He rolled his eyes. "Take away my partner here and you flounder like a bunch of land-bound fish."

Though it took him a second, and he didn't look like he was going to say anything initially, Souji nodded his agreement. "You've done nothing. Look at how long it took you to get this far," he taunted.

Elize shook her head adamantly. "No way!" she insisted, bravely facing the men who had terrified her to the point of tears but hours ago. Yosuke felt a swell of pride as she continued. "We've done way more than nothing! Especially them! Ever since Ken and me were in _elementary school_ they kept people from being put in here and killed." Of course, Yosuke knew that she knew that Souji was a part of that group as well, at first, anyway; but things were obviously different with him.

Kanji nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah." He cast a smile at Elize, then turned his eyes back toward Souji. "Sure, we were pretty damn screwed up when you turned your back on us," he told Souji, "but we overcame whatever you guys did to us and we got here. To the truth." He was confident, and it was equal parts surprising and not.

"But you don't have any _clue_ what the real truth is!" Souji's expression was serious. "Why would you throw your lives away like that?"

With a scoff, Naoto shook her head no. "I wouldn't call trying to save the rest of the world from an integration with shadows, throwing our lives away." She paused for a second, then lowered her tone. "If you use your life to the fullest, it's never a waste. That's what I've always believed," she mused.

"I'd rather 'waste my time' stopping shadows from taking over the world than pretend nothing's wrong," Ken insisted.

And Teddie was nodding adamantly beside him. "I'm not gonna let everyone I care about, like Nana-chan and Pops and Rise and everyone else get hurt by shadows. Not if I can help it!" There was a fire in his expression that Yosuke hadn't seen in a long time, and Yosuke couldn't help but be a little bit amused by it.

Until Adachi spoke up. "I'd like to see you try." He paused, and smirked a little bit. "No, I mean, really. I would." He cocked his head to the side, and the tone in his voice changed from conversational to threatening. "It'll be a relief to see Izanami stomp you to the ground." He laughed a single laugh.

From the corner of his eye, he spotted Jude looking at Souji, and there was something strange in his expression. That was his 'I know something is wrong' expression. Yosuke knew it well. He always seemed to pick up on when Yosuke was trying to hide something, as well as most of the others, and now it seemed that lightning-precise perceptiveness was being aimed at Souji.

"You don't want them to die, do you?" Jude asked, his voice holding none of the anger that it usually held when he talked to, or about, Souji. Instead, there was something else there. Pity, maybe. Just like Yosuke had been feeling.

Souji glared an ice cold dagger at Jude. "Shut up," he spat.

But Jude didn't back down, or fall for the taunt. "It's okay, you know," he offered softly, "not to want them to die, I mean. And to not want to die yourself." All the eyes in the area were on Jude now, but he didn't balk, didn't back down.

It seemed that all the balking Jude usually did in this situation had been passed to Souji. "Yeah, well, what does it matter? And what the hell do you care?" he seethed.

A sad smile crossed Jude's face. "Because I don't think you want the world integration you're talking about to happen," he mused.

"What do you know?" Souji harrumphed, crossing his arms over his chest like a petulant child.

Jude shrugged. "Maybe I don't know," he admitted calmly. "Maybe I'm way off base, but I don't think I am." His eyes darted from Souji, to Adachi, then back to Souji again. "Your expression isn't the expression of someone who wants the world to end, Souji. Not like his is." He motioned to Adachi with one hand, then shrugged again. "You're worried. You wouldn't be worried if you really wanted this, would you?" he asked.

"I..." Souji looked down at the ground. "Shut _up_ , Mathis. You don't know a damned thing about me. You don't know a damned thing about _anything_. You shouldn't even _be_ here." The words were the same words he'd been throwing at Jude all along, but there was something different behind them. He really _was_ tired.

The shout didn't make Jude balk like it usually did, either. A tiny bit of sadness crossed his face, but other than that, he didn't react. "Maybe I shouldn't," he offered softly. "But I am. And I know what I'm seeing."

All Yosuke could think to do right then was to cast a smile over at Jude. He really was amazing. To be able to deduce that from Souji's actions, from whatever he'd seen that caused him to speak up... and to even speak _up_ about it, after everything Souji had put them through; put _Jude_ through, even. Jude was just... absolutely amazing.

"He's right, isn't he?" Yosuke asked Souji.

Souji didn't say anything, though. He just shrugged his shoulders like a toddler getting caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

But Yosuke wasn't giving up. "You really don't want the world to end, do you, Souji?" His voice was insistent, telling Souji without saying it that he wasn't going to give up until he admitted it.

Still, however, Souji didn't answer. Not with words, anyway. He turned to Adachi and pulled in a deep breath. "It's over, Adachi," he admitted.

"Are you fucking _kidding_ me?" Adachi seethed. "It's not over! All we have to do is let them go to Izanami and they'll-"

But Souji shook his head adamantly. "I don't think they will," he admitted. "Look at how easily they took care of us now. And there's something different about them now! I don't know what it is, maybe something changed with their personas or something like that, but they're _stronger_. I don't think they're going to get beaten as easily as you think they will."

With an angry shout, Adachi summoned his persona and cast a ziodyne on Souji. "We were _so close_ and you're giving up on me now?" he seethed.

Souji switched personas and cast a light spell on Adachi, knocking him to the floor for a moment. Then, he turned around and glanced at the team. At Yosuke. "Go." It was a single word. But it told them a lot. "Just _go_ , okay? Go and fight Izanami, do whatever you need to do. She's to the east of the Junes entrance. Rise, you should be able to find her easy. I'll hold him off if he gets back up." He pulled in a deep breath.

"And when you're done?" Chie asked.

But Souji shrugged a shoulder. "Does it _matter_ , Chie? We'll deal with that later. Just _go_!" he seethed.

Yosuke was shocked into complete and utter silence, and it seemed like everyone else was, too. They exchanged questioning looks, but eventually, they decided to do what Souji had said, and turned to take off in a run toward the Junes entrance.

But Yosuke needed to know one more thing. "Hold on a sec, guys," he told everyone.

"Yosuke?" Jude asked, a nervous expression on his face as he glanced back at Souji.

With a reassuring smile, Yosuke walked up to Jude and placed a hand on his cheek. The sight of his own wrist caught him off guard, but he tamped it back for now. "It's okay. Just need to ask him a question," he promised. 

Jude nodded. "Okay..." he replied softly.

It seemed like Jude understood, sure. But even _with_ that, he still looked worried as Yosuke turned around and jogged back in Souji's direction. He pulled in a deep breath, trying to act nonchalant, and cleared his throat. "H-hey, Souji?" he called, his voice faltering in face of actually talking to Souji one on one again.

Souji turned to look at him, eyes narrowed in irritation. "What do you want _now_? You should be halfway there by now," he snapped.

Swallowing thickly, Yosuke nodded. "Yeah, I know," he mumbled. "I just..." He paused, trailing off in the middle of the sentence and looking down at the ground.

"You just?" It seemed like Souji was losing his patience.

It wasn't like this was easy. This wasn't a casual, everyday question. It was a question that had plagued his mind every god damned night back in 2012. Even four years later, after he recovered from everything Souji had done, facing him down _still_ wasn't easy. But he had to do this, both to prove to himself that he could, and because it was the last, lingering question he had about Souji. He needed an answer.

Yosuke pulled in a deep breath and shrugged a shoulder. "Did you ever care about us at all?" he asked. "The others, I mean? And me?" 

The question seemed to take Souji off-guard, and he turned to look at Yosuke in irritation. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"I... I'm just wondering. Was there ever a time when you really cared about us at all? Or were we all just playthings to you? Things to entertain you while you stuck were in the middle of nowhere?" Yosuke chewed on his lip. No matter how 'okay' he felt, it still sucked that he had to ask this question. But he did, because if he didn't, he would always wonder.

Souji glared at him, fury lining his eyes. "Does it even matter at this point? It's not like things can ever be as they were, and it's not like I can ever be what you want me to be," he snapped.

"Wanted." Yosuke corrected Souji. And there was nothing but certainty in his tone. "Past tense."

As soon as those words escaped, Souji's glare deepened. "Right. Wanted." He turned his eyes to look at Jude, and Yosuke's gaze followed.

Yosuke huffed a chuckle and shook his head. "You were wrong about him, by the way. He's nothing like you." He felt a little bit of vengeful happiness saying that. If he wasn't going to get his answer, at the very least he could toss out a barb of his own.

Shrugging, Souji rolled his eyes. "Good for you."

Honestly, Yosuke didn't know why he'd even bothered to come over here and ask. He should have known better than to expect an honest answer from Souji. And maybe he didn't even really want one. But he'd had to try. Rolling his eyes, he turned around and started walking back over to the group. Suddenly, he wanted nothing more than to be back with Jude.

"Hey!" Souji called out to him as he retreated.

Yosuke turned and looked over his shoulder. "What?" he asked in aggravation.

Sighing, Souji looked down at the ground in a refusal to meet Yosuke's eye. "Both," he started. "It was both." And without another word, he turned and started walking over to Adachi.

Blinking twice, Yosuke stared after him for a second, before turning around and looking at Jude, who was watching him with worry lining his eyes. It felt like this moment was significant. Like it was the closure he'd been waiting for. Wetting his lips, he looked down at the floor. Both, huh? So, he actually had cared about them at one point. That was good, he guessed. While it was an answer, it wasn't what he expected. Actually, he wasn't even sure what he expected. He wasn't even sure what the ultimate goal of the conversation was. It wasn't like finding out immediately made him feel better about what happened. He heaved a sigh and turned to head back to the others, watching as everyone turned to start the last leg of their journey.

But before he took another step, he felt that familiar tick in his brain, and he blinked a couple of times.

_Thou art I, and I am thou._  
_Thou hast mended a severed bond._  
_These bonds shall be your eyes to see the truth._  
_We bestow upon thee the ability to create Magatsu-Izanagi, the ultimate form of the Jester Arcana._

He froze in place, blinking up at the sky a couple of times, before turning to look at Souji to see if he was staring up at the sky. He wasn't. So, had he not evolved enough as a person for his persona to evolve like the others' had? Or was he just so desensitized to things like that happening to him, that it didn't even warrant a reaction from him anymore? Yosuke wasn't sure which answer would be better. If either of them were any good at all, anyway. It didn't matter, though. He turned back around to see that everyone on the group was heading back toward the entrance, and probably didn't see him stop like he had.

Well, everyone except Jude.

Jude looked at him now, with twice as much worry as he'd had before on his face, and Yosuke felt guilty. With an embarrassed smile on his face, he glanced down at the ground and walked toward Jude, nodding in the direction of the entrance. "I'll tell you on the way," he offered.

Although he still looked anxious, Jude nodded his head. "Are you okay?" he asked. 

Yosuke nodded.

Jude, however, didn't seem convinced. "I think we should stop and take a break before we go to wherever we need to go. I... I need to take care of those splinters in your arms, and... and I really just want to..." He trailed off. Insecurity. Of course he was insecure. With everything that had happened that day, they hadn't had a chance to talk about it like they always talked about everything.

Suddenly, Yosuke was feeling guilty again. "Hey," he called softly. He reached his hand up and turned Jude's chin so that they were face to face again. "Hey," he repeated. "I love you." He smiled softly at Jude.

The insecurity seemed to melt away right then, and Jude bit his lip, giving Yosuke a bashful smile. "I love you, too," he said quietly in response.

With that attempt at reassurance out in the open, Yosuke could only hope that Jude was feeling a little bit better. Sliding his aching hand into Jude's, the pair of them walked a little bit behind the group, and continued the walk back to the Junes entrance.


End file.
